Troublesome! Yamanaka in the Nara Residence!
by Aki-Child
Summary: Is their relationship going to develop into something more than just pure friendship within a month? Within the month when Ino moves in and lives with Shikamaru and his family? ShikaIno.
1. The Definition of Troublesome

_**Author's Note:**__ This will be my first Fan Fiction dedicated to Shikamaru and Ino. I simply adore them. Anyway, school has been crazy lately. It might take me a while to update but hopefully I can squeeze some time out from school stuff to work on this. To those of you who are waiting for an update from "I will be Waiting", please read this story of mine while you wait, okay? Last but not least, enjoy and happy reading._

_**Disclaimer:**__ I do not own Naruto._

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**Troublesome! Yamanaka in the Nara Residence!**

**© Aki-Child**

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**Chapter 1: The Definition of Troublesome**

Yesterday had been a rough day for Nara Shikamaru. Actually, to be exact, the past week had been a rough week for him. A week ago, the Hokage assigned Shikamaru to his first mission ever since he was promoted to a Jonin. Was it an A ranked mission? He didn't remember. Or rather, he was too lazy to recall the details. It was completed, anyway. There was no point in remembering any of the details in regards to a mission that happened in the past… until the night before the due date of the mission report.

Shikamaru groaned at reminder of the mission report. He was exhausted. He was too tired to even drag himself to report to the Hokage personally that he had safely returned from the mission. Well, he did ask one of the front gate guards to report to Tsunade-sama on his behave. The guard refused at first, but Shikamaru claimed that he had to visit the hospital as soon as possible for an internal injury. But of course, Shikamaru did not suffer from an internal injury; thus, he went home straightaway.

To be honest, Shikamaru did not expect an A ranked mission to be so difficult and draining. If he had known, he would've never gone through the trouble of applying and taking the Jonin examination. But even if he had known, his father wouldn't allow him to waste his 'talent'. Yeah, so in conclusion, it was Shikaku who wanted Shikamaru to become a Jonin. Why? He wanted his son to get rid of his Chunin title (obviously). Why? Being a Jonin meant higher income and a higher ninja ranking. Why? Having a higher income and status meant more recognition and respect from people – regular citizens and fellow shinobi alike. So what? So, there would be a higher chance for Shikamaru to finally find a girlfriend and a daughter-in-law for them.

_Ah-ha_. Underlying intention surfaced.

But the main problem was not his position, his salary or ranking. The main problem was his view on women. To Shikamaru, almost all female species were branded as troublesome. Besides, no matter how many women he had teamed up with in the past, he did not dare to lay an eye on them. Why? Because if the mission were failed because Shikamaru was eying one of his female partners, The Hokage would nag, yell, or even beat him up for the failure. He did not want any nagging, yelling or beating. But he would not blame the Hokage for her fury though, because she was born a woman first.

So, what's the conclusion?

"The conclusion is that women are troublesome, and girlfriends are unnecessary," Shikamaru mumbled in his sleep. "They whine. They nag. They boss. They scream. They do all the unimaginable things to torture you…" Suddenly, the flow of air changed, which meant a person had intruded his bedroom. But he did not care. He was too tired to care. He pulled the blanket over his face in hopes of blocking any noise made by the intruder.

"Hey," it was a woman's voice.

He rolled to his side, with his back facing the intruder. He refused to leave his bed even if his mom were to drag him out of it. He'd only returned last night – _well, early this morning_ – and slept for only three or four hours. There was no way he would wake up early on a day off. There was just no way.

Few minutes of silence had passed by and Shikamaru hoped that the intruder had decided to leave him alone in peace. He sighed lowly and buried his face deeper into the pillow. But this peace and quiet did not last. The intruder had placed a hand on his shoulder and started shaking him. _Damn it_, Shikamaru cursed under his breath.

"Shikamaru, get up."

His patience was wearing out. Did she, a person who knew his name, not know that he was not a morning person and that he was especially grumpy in the morning?

"Shikamaru, get up!"

Okay, she really had no idea…

"Shikamaru!"

It all happened within a matter of seconds. Shikamaru snapped open his eyes, seized her arm, pulled her towards him, and rolled over until he was on top. By doing so, he did manage to shut her up. But something was off. The 'person' he'd pinned down on his bed was… _not_ person.

It was a block of wood.

_What the hell_. It wasn't his first time seeing a block of wood before his eyes. He'd seen it over thousands of times whenever he or his opponents used the Body Replacement Jutsu, but it was definitely his first time seeing it in his room, on his bed. This was odd. He was sure that he'd heard someone talking, calling his name and shaking him madly on the shoulder in attempt to wake him up. What just happened? Was his body and mind exhausted up to a point that he started imaging things?

"What do you think you were doing, Shikamaru?" It was the same voice again. Slowly, Shikamaru turned his head towards to the source of the voice and was greeted by the face of the person he would mess with the last. Her hands were placed on her hips and an annoyed expression was written all over her face. It was not a good sign.

"W-what are you doing here?" Shikamaru dared to ask.

"I believe I asked you a question _first_," she replied.

The block of wood disappeared into a puff of smoke. Shikamaru pushed himself up into a sitting position. God, he was so tired! His brown orbs looked into her blue ones. It'd been a long time since he had seen this pair of eyes. But _damn it_, now wasn't the time to memorize! He had made her angry, very angry…

"Just who in the world do you think you were pinning down, Shikamaru?!"

Yamanaka Ino. She had taught him to look at whom he was attacking the next time someone intruded his room. Just what did he get himself into? His body was already too drained to respond to her wrath. Yeah, he used the last bit of his strength to pin down… a block of wood. And now, even his eardrums had to suffer too. He thought today would've been a nice day off.

_I guess I was wrong_.

Terribly wrong.

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Shikamaru shut his eyes, exhausted, or maybe it was out of boredom and irritation. "This is wonderful. I am running on three or four hours of sleep, and here I am, stuck in between two women who are lecturing me on how inappropriate I was behaving. I thought she was the one who was behaving inappropriately…"

"Excuse me!?"

_Oops, did I say that out loud?_

He opened his eyes and shut them again within a second. "_Even women can be sweet and gentle at times. You just haven't seen that side of women yet, Shikamaru._" Shikamaru recalled what his father had told him once. But, really? He hadn't experienced anything considered as a gentle and sweet gesture done by a woman yet. Was that something he'd only get if he was married? He reminded himself to ask his father the next time they brought up the topic again.

He yawned.

"Shikamaru!" His mother's eyes narrowed. She attacked the collar of his shirt and brought him close, "You are yawning as if this is none of your business. Did you even listen to what I have been going on and on about for the past twenty minutes?" Yoshino glared at her own son furiously, "and how many times did I tell you to not yawn when someone else is talking? It's disrespectful!"

Shikamaru rolled his eyes, "and you are saying grabbing your son's collar and yelling at him isn't considered disrespectful, mom?"

"You little brat!"

"Yoshino-san!" Ino interrupted the two Nara's argument.

"Oh, I am sorry, Ino-chan," Yoshino gave up on the thought of strangling her son and smiled apologetically at Ino. "Since you are a part of us now, you will be encountering a lot of heated verbal battles between Shikamaru and I. I will try not to drag you into any of it."

"Excuse me?" Shikamaru raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean she's a part of us now?"

Yoshino took a deep breath and muttered dangerously, "You seriously didn't hear a thing I said, did you? Ino's parents are out on a 30-day long mission and they didn't want to leave Ino alone in the house since she'd feel lonely. That's why they asked us to keep an eye out for her until they return. I knew you weren't paying attention to what I was saying the whole time, Shikamaru!"

Shikamaru sighed in defeat. His mom could've simply summed up her twenty-minute lecture to one simple sentence. It would've saved him a lot of trouble and time. There was one thing that he'd never understand about women. They always, _always_, had to take hours before getting to their point. How troublesome.

"Take those suitcases," Yoshino eyed the suitcases which were placed near the front door, "and bring those to her room."

Almost unwillingly, Shikamaru carried Ino's suitcases and slowly proceeded toward the staircase when a realization suddenly struck him. He halted and looked over his shoulder at his mother, "whose room is she using?" He didn't remember having a guest room upstairs. The only rooms upstairs were his parents' and _his_. No way. There was just no way…

"Whose room do you think, my son?" his mom glared at him dangerously.

"No way! She can't possibly use my –" Shikamaru protested but was interrupted by their _guest_.

"Nothing is impossible. I am sure Shikamaru was just joking," Ino smacked him so hard on the arm that it shut him up. She leaned in closer to his ear and whispered "Come on, you don't want Yoshino-san to lecture you again for another twenty minutes, right? Just take them to your room already."

"_My_ room? You're not using–" his gaze moved away from the blonde hair girl to his mother's irritated face. He cleared his throat and grinned forcefully, "O-of course, where else would I be going with Ino's things. Of course she is using my room!"

Quickly taking everything and retreating from the kitchen area to his room, Shikamaru settled Ino's suitcases by the foot of his bed. He lay back down onto the mattress and sighed, "Was it necessary to wake me up to carry your stuff? Couldn't you have done it yourself, Ino?"

Ino ignored his comment and started to unpack her belongings. She took her neatly folded clothes out and opened Shikamaru's closet. "Your closet is a mess, Shikamaru." She pushed his clothes aside and mode room for her own.

Shikamaru popped his head up to see what she was doing in his room, "What are you doing to my closet, Ino?"

Without looking up, she continued to take her clothes out, "Isn't it obvious? I am putting my things together with your things. I am sure you don't want my suitcases to lie in the middle of your room, right?" She took a quick glance at him and added, "Besides, since we are sharing this room now, I should have the right to own half of your closet too."

Shikamaru pushed himself up into a sitting position, "But, I thought you... No, I mean it's not very appropriate for us to share a room. Why don't you sleep in my parents' room with my mom and I sleep in this room with my dad?"

Ino stared at him in disbelief, as if he'd just given the stupidest suggestion ever. Well, Shikamaru knew it was sort of stupid since his bed probably wouldn't fit both himself _and _his father. And, it must be awkward to Ino too to share a room with an adult whom she didn't know very well.

"It's alright, Shikamrau. It doesn't matter. I will be taking your bed and you'll be taking the couch. I don't see how it is considered inappropriate." She walked next to his bed and placed one of her dolls next to the pillow. "Don't you think so?"

"I- I am what?!" He looked at her, dumbfounded, "Why do _I_ have to take the couch?"

"Well, we can share a bed too, if you think it is fine," she walked toward the desk and placed a tiny mirror on the desk. Shikamaru looked at the young lady, dumbfounded. Did she just say they could share a bed? No way. Just when he was about to protest, Ino spun around to face him, "But I doubt that you would, Shikamaru. I mean, you are a guy and I am a girl after all. You wouldn't let a lady sleep on the couch, right?"

"Well," he cleared his throat, "We had always slept in the same tent during our Genin days. Sharing a bed now shouldn't be a huge problem, would it, Ino?"

"Yeah, it shouldn't be a huge problem," Unexpectedly, Ino climbed onto the bed and moved closer to him until their shoulders were touching. She was too close…

"W-what are you doing?" Shikamaru jerked away almost instantly.

Ino crossed her arms over her chest and smirked, "It could've been alright if we were still Genins, but we are seventeen years old now, Shikamaru. We are not children anymore. We are young adults. Do you really think it isn't a problem if we were to sleep on the same bed, Shikamaru-_kun_?"

"U-uh–" He lost, like he'd always would in a verbal battle against Ino, "No."

Ino grinned victoriously "Then it is settled." She took a set of clothes and a bathing towel in her arms, "I am going to take a shower. Make sure you'd have the bed sheet and pillow case changed before I finish, okay?" It was more of a command than a request. She tip-toed into the bathroom and quietly closed the door behind her.

Shikamaru sighed in defeat and lay back onto the mattress again. "This is going to a long month." His eyelids suddenly felt very heavy. Despite having been awake for almost forty minutes by now, both his mind and body were still very exhausted. Slowly, he closed his eyes and was gradually drifting back to sleep, but…

…a loud thud coming from the bathroom woke him up, _again_.

**End of Chapter 1**

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_How was it? Please do let me know. Reviews will be appreciated._


	2. Something's wrong

**A/N: **thank you everyone for reading my story and giving me the wonderful reviews! I really appreciated it. Hope you all will like this second chapter too! Enjoy!

**Chapter 2: Something's wrong**

_Troublesome troublesome troublesome! Why does the stupid shower have to be broken at a time like this? Now I have to shop for a new one with this troublesome woman!_ Shikamaru turned his head slightly to take a quick gaze at the blonde hair girl. Her arm was linked loosely with his and she was dragging him along the path. _Woman._ He sighed softly.

"Hurry up, Shikamaru!" Ino quickened her pace. Her ponytail swung side to side, once a while hitting the boy's shoulder, "If we don't hurry up, maybe they will be all sold-" The girl opened her mouth widely and stopped in front of the store. She read the sign. "CLOSED?" she shrieked loudly and smacked her hand onto the door handle, "why does it have to be closed!"

Shikamaru yawned and tucked his hands into his pockets, "what do you expect? It is only eight something in the morning after all."

She turned around, with her hands linked behind her back, "Then, how am I going to shower now?"

The boy eyed him for a minute. _She does look sweaty. _Her hair matted onto her forehead and neck; her clothes was soaked with sweat and sweat pouring entirely down her forehead. _Maybe a cold drink will do her good. _"Let's go to Ichiraku for a breakfast first. We'll come back later after we finish eating, okay?"

Ino nodded her head dumbly.

"Let's go then," Shikamaru turned fully around and the girl tagged closely behind him. Their journey to Ichiraku was completely quiet. They didn't want to speak; or maybe they didn't know what to talk about. It had been years that they hadn't seemed each other. Both of them had been busy taking care of their own missions.

Once a while, Ino would raise her head up and stared at the boy's broad back. _He changed so much over the years. I bet he does a lot of training and missions with other Jounins. _She sighed and looked down at her feet. _I wonder how he thinks about me now. Am I still the troublesome and bossy Ino? I bet so. _She let out another soft sign again and drowned in her own thought.

Being an observant ninja, he noticed how often she sighed and how often she mumbled something under her breath. But instead of telling the girl what he analyzed, he stopped walking, which made the girl collided with his back.

"Shikamaru, what was that for?" Ino rubbed her nose and narrowed her eyes at the boy.

He turned around and bowed his head down to look at her; he was about half a head taller than she was. Realizing how close they were standing in front of each other, Shikamaru took a step backwards and cleared his throat uncomfortably, "It was for nothing. I just want to tell you that we've arrived to Ichiraku."

"Ah," Ino looked passed him and spotted the stall. Then, she switched her gaze back to him, "what are we waiting for, then?" She walked passed him. Her shoulder slightly brushed against his arm, "let's go then. We don't have all day to play a staring game."

This time, it was his turn to sigh. _Women. They always like to keep things to themselves, eh?_ With that, he walked behind her.

The two teenagers slipped into the stall and sat on the stools. They both ordered a bowl of ramen and waited patiently for their meals quietly. Shikamaru looked at the girl in the corner of his eyes and he knew that something was bugging her. _But it is too troublesome to ask her what is going on, right? Right?_ His mouth betrayed him, "Something you want to speak with me about?" _Thank you, Shikamaru._

Ino turned and looked at him questionably. She smirked, "why would I have something to tell you, Shikamaru?"

He opened his mouth to speak something, but no words came out. _Oh great, now I look stupid._ He let out a groan and placed his elbow on the counter, "If you have nothing, never mind then. You are just awfully quiet, that's all." He stared at the cook lazily, watching the way he cooked their ramen.

"Shikamaru," she suddenly called out his name. Her hands were balled into fists and she was staring at her own laps, "there is something I want to ask you."

"And I thought you said you have nothing to speak with me about," Shikamaru looked at her and yawned.

Ino bowed her head down even more, "Well, am I still the bossy and annoying Ino from before?"

The girl raised her head up and looked at him seriously. Instantly, he was startled by how red her cheeks were. _What a view! This is actually the first time I see her blushing this hard. _The boy scratched his head, trying to choose to right words to reply her, "To be honest with you, Ino. You have-"

"What are you two doing here?" Naruto interrupted Shikamaru's answering session. Both of them turned their heads to the direction where a blonde hair boy was standing. Ino narrowed her eyes at him, cursing silently. Naruto grinned brightly at the staring Ino, with his arms behind his head, "I am sorry. I didn't ruin your moments, right?"

The cook handed Ino and Shikamaru their bowls of ramen. They equipped themselves with chopsticks and napkins before Shikamaru replied the blonde hair boy, "I think you haven't in some way."

"That's great!" Naruto hopped onto a stool next to Shikamaru and also ordered himself a ramen. Then, he elbowed the shadow boy on the arm, "Got a new date already, Shikamaru?"

Ino spurted out her ramen and the colour red immediately took over her cheeks' original colour. Shikamaru scooped another mouthful of ramen into his mouth, questioning him in a lazy manner, "Just what are you saying, Naruto?"

"You know what I am talking about, Shikamaru." Naruto elbowed him again and flashed him a foxy grin, "weren't you going out with Temari a month ago?"

Ino looked at the two boys in the corner of her eyes and chewed the food angrily. _What is this rush of anger flying through me? _The brown hair boy almost choked on his raman and swallowed hard before speaking out, "I told you that Temari and I were just going to Tsunade-sama together and nothing else!"

Naruto eyed Ino for a moment and smirked. Then, he switched his gaze to the shadow boy and smirked again, "Sure, Shikamaru, if that is what you are telling me." Naruto ate his ramen hungrily as soon as the cook handed him his bowl. Suddenly, he added, "By the way, today's your treat, Shikamaru."

With a simply 'Hn' escaping from his mouth, he turned his attention back to the girl. He stared at her for a moment and realized that she was back to her own original quiet self, "Ino, I-"

Ino slammed the bowl onto the counter roughly, cutting him short, "Hurry up, Shikamaru. We still have something else to do." _What- why am I acting like this? What is that feeling that is hammering my heart? _With that, she stepped down from the stool and headed towards the washroom.

Shikamaru hanged his mouth wide opened, "Just what is the problem with nowadays girls?"

Naruto leaned closer to him and spoke it his ear, "Nowadays girls are just sensitive animals, Shikamaru."

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There was absolutely no conversation going between Ino and Shikamaru on their way to the store and back to the Nara residence. After fixing the shower, the girl just hopped into the bathtub and slammed the bathroom door shut onto the boy's face. Knowing that there was no point of asking her what went wrong, he climbed onto the roof of his residence and enjoyed the floating clouds.

_Troublesome women._ Shikamaru rested his head onto his arms. He stared blankly at the clouds and the blue sky. _It's just like her baby blue eyes and milky white skin._ He shook his head mentally and rolled to his side. Faintly, he could overhear his mother yelling with his father with a loud voice. Knowing that arguing with a woman was not what men do, Shikato simply apologized to the woman. _"Even the most violent woman is tender to the man she loves." _Shikamaru mumbled, "Whatever, dad. How is mom tender to you in any way?"

Shikamaru sighed as he rolled to his other side. At the same time, he heard Ino shutting off the shower and stepping out of the bathtub. _Sounds like she is done now. _He pushed himself into a sitting position and soon lied back down. _Does it matter? It's not like that she will speak to me after showering. _Then, he mumbled to himself, "I don't want her to slam the door right at my face again."

With that, his eyelids felt heavy. _Extremely heavy._ He had not really get enough sleep from the start. Coming back from a mission at three last night and waking up in the early morning were a torture. Besides, he had to go shopping with Ino and fixing the shower for her. All these hard works were exhausting. He was worn out.

"Maybe a sleep on the roof will be nice..." he mumbled out the words to himself before closing his eyes. He let the wind to play with his hair freely and the sun to shine onto his tanned skin. _Whatever, I don't care. _Rolling onto his back, he set his mind empty. He fell asleep quickly under the blazing sun.

Sometime during his dreamless sleep, Shikamaru felt someone shaking his shoulder. Forcefully, he opened his eyes, revealing his brown orbs. A blurry face greeted him. "Ino?" he unconsciously called out her name but only replied with a light chuckle. The boy rubbed his eyes to clear his vision. A man with black hair appeared in front of him, "dad."

"I am sorry I disappointed you, son," Shikato knelt beside the boy and grinned brightly, "I will tell Ino to come out and wake you up next time."

The sun was already set and the moon was brightening up the whole dark sky. _Oh man, I slept through the whole afternoon? It feels like I slept less than a hour. _Shikamaru pushed himself up and realized that there was a orange blanket covering his body. He yawned tiredly, "you brought me this?"

Shikato stared at him for a moment before shaking his head, "Nah, I am never this sweet to anyone, Shikamaru."

"Then, it must have been mom," the shadow boy yawned again before grabbing the blanket into his hands.

"Nah," Shikato waved a hand and grinned, "Your mom will never dare to come out and stand on the roof."

Shikamaru stood up from the spot and steadied himself, "This is too troublesome. I am not going to play guessing game with you, dad." Then, he slowly walked towards an opened window. Before he jumped back into the house, a hand was placed on his shoulder. The boy turned around in annoyance, "what's the matter now, dad?"

"The answer is not that hard to guess when there is only one person left for you to guess," the man winked at his son, "I will give you one more choice, Shikamaru. Who brought you this blanket?"

Shikamaru stared blankly at his father for a second and turned around, "You know who did and I know that too. There is no point of telling you the answer now, dad." He tightened his grip onto the blanket and went back into the house. _Ino, thank you._

"By the way, son," Shikato added, also stepping back into the house, "dinner is ready."

**Tonight's dinner was awkward. They ate in silence.**

Once a while, there would be small and quiet talk between the two adults or maybe one of the teenagers. However, there would never be a conservation that involved with all four of them talking together. Shikato sat beside his wife, who was sitting across from the girl. Shikamaru sat beside Ino and also across his father. From time to time, Shikato would automatically kick his son's foot and stared at him. Then, Shikamaru would turn his gaze to the blonde hair girl.

He would sigh every time after he took a look of her expression. _How troublesome._ She was eating her dinner in frustration whenever she was not talking with the adults. _What is going on with this woman anyways? She has been acting like this ever since we ate at Ichiraku._ Shikamaru sighed again.

Shikato looked back and forth at the two young shinobi, "Anyways, Ino," the girl looked at the man questionably. He smiled and continued, "Have you and Shikamaru decide on who sleeps on the bed and who sleeps on the couch?"

"Yes." A simple answer was replied from the girl.

Shikato kicked Shikamaru again and gave him a gaze, telling him to play along. The boy snorted and mumbled, "how troublesome..."

_Why does my stupid father want me to play along anyways?_ He turned his head slightly to Ino's direction and looked at her. _Not that she would reply or talk to me even if I start a conservation with her. _Then, she caught him staring at her, which made him turned his attention back onto his bowl of rice. Then, he got kicked again.

"Come on, Shikamaru, be a man." his dad lips formed out these words.

The shadow boy took a deep breathe before turning his body fully to the girl, "Ino, I think-"

Ino stood up from her spot and grabbed an empty bowl in her hand, "I think I am going to get another bowl of soup, Mrs. Nara. They are delicious." She smiled at the woman. With that, she left the eating area and towards the kitchen.

As soon as Ino disappeared into the kitchen, Shikato whispered to his son, "Come on, son, go in after her."

Shikamaru rested his head onto his hand and sighed, "too troublesome."

Mrs. Nara flashed the boy an evil glare and balled her hand into fist, "Get your butt in there, Shikamaru! I am not going to let you and our Ino to be mad at one another forever!"

"Just when did she become **YOUR** Ino?" Shikamaru smirked but only received another kick him his dad, "Dad, you can go in after her."

"**YOU** are going in!" The two parents yelled at his son, in a low tone, as two of them kicked him together at the same time.

He grunted and stood up. _Troublesome parents and a troublesome woman equal a very troublesome living environment. _Then, he yawned and walked towards the kitchen. Inside the kitchen, Ino was still standing by the stove, pouring herself some more soup. Shikamaru stepped into the place and untucked his hands from his pockets. _Here goes nothing._

He stood beside his former teammate and stared at her back. Ino, as a trained shinobi, sensed his presence and stepped away from him. She attempted to walk pass him but only realized that her escape route was blocked with his extended arm. They were facing and standing close to each other. Somehow, they were able to hear each other's breathing and also feel each other's heat.

The girl bowed her head down, avoiding direct eye contact with the boy, "What do you want, Shikamaru?"

First time in this evening, she spoke to him. Shikamaru was startled for a moment but soon regained his calm, "I just want to know what is wrong with you."

The girl bit her lower lips and answered, "nothing is wrong."

Then, the doorbell rang.

The two teenagers chose to ignore the bell instead. The boy tucked his hands into his pocket and stared at her, "No, Ino. What is bothering you?" Ino bowed down her head even more and pressed her lips together, not wanting to answer his question. Shikamaru lowered himself until he saw her hidden face and repeated his question once again, "What is bothe-"

"Shikamaru," his mother suddenly appeared outside of the kitchen. The two teammates quickly stepped away from each other and looked at the woman. The woman smiled awkwardly, "Temari is at the door, Shikamaru." Then, the woman left.

Ino also took this chance to walk pass the boy but he grabbed her arm gently and asked again, "Can you at least tell me what's wrong with you first, Ino?"

She swung his hand away and froze at her spot. She spoke out the bitter words in an indescribable tone, "YOUR Temari is waiting for you." Shikamaru left his hand in the midair while watching the girl walking out of the kitchen.

_What was that tone? Was that...jealousy?_

**End of Chapter 2**

**A/N:** hmm...looks like this story is going to have a little bit of Temari and Shikamaru in it XD...hope you readers won't mind. Anyways, hopefully that chapter three will be arriving soon. Till next time! Please tell me how to feel about this chappie, folks!


	3. Insensitivity

**A/N:** whoops! I am so sorry everyone. This chapter took me a month to update! I had the idea long ago but just did not know how to arrange them! Haha. Sorry! Hope all of you will like this little chappie! Enjoy. 

**KaiKaiCutie: **I am so sorry that i didn't update quickly! haha...but late is better not updating at all right? Hope you'll like this chappie!

**Shika-Kun: **haha! i noe! i dun like her too! but let's not get too "angry" here since other ppl might like her! anyways, thanks for your review and hope you like this chapter!

**ishgreeklady: **here you go! a hot and fresh chapter! hehe.

**Pandora The Vampire: **haha...i will be sure that he will end up with ino since this is the main pairing of this story! blah! hope you like this chappie too!

**babykitty2270: **lolx..no no! im not gonna end it as a temashika! im sure of that XD! but...haha!

**Liltoughiepunkie: **im adding on! thanks for your review!

**kyuubi kitty:** i will be sure to do that XD! thank you for reviewing and hope you like this chappie.

**annonymous:** thank you thank you! hehe!

**Chapter 3: Insensitivity**

"I just want to know what's wrong with you, Ino."

She paused at the spot and dug in her thought for an answer. _What is wrong? I don't know what is wrong. Why am I acting this way? I don't know why I am acting this way. Why do I feel like that I have just been hammered in the heart? I don't know why I do feel like this. _She was confusing herself. Why wouldn't she just give him a simple and abstract answer? "Nothing's wrong, Shikamaru."

"No, just tell me what's wrong, Ino." The boy was looking for a better answer.

Without even waiting for her to reply him with a "better" answer, the doorbell rang and here he went to the door for Temari. Ino just stood dumbly in the kitchen alone, staring at his leaving shadow. For a moment, she found her tears finding their way to escape from her eyes. She found herself finally knew the answer to his question.

**"Nothing's wrong...because everything is not right."**

_Don't walk in front of me, I may not follow;  
Don't walk behind me, I may not lead;  
Walk beside me, and just be my friend._

_**"Friends, are we only capable of going this far?" **_

Tonight, Ino lied on the bed on her stomach, alone, in the room. Her legs swung back and forth gently as she flipped the pages of the album she chose from Shikamaru's bookshelf. There were hundred of pictures of the boy. There were pictures of him being a baby, an academy student, a genin, a chuunin and finally a jounin.

There was one particular picture that captured her eyes. _A picture with only Shikamaru and herself in it. _This picture was taken long time ago. They were still a kid back then.

_"Happy 10th year old birthday, Ino-chan!" Today was September 23, Ino's birthday. All her girl and guy friends were sitting in a huge round table. In the middle was an ice cream cake with the words 'happy birthday!' in the center. With that, her friends started giving her tiny presents and blessings. _

_"Thank you very much!" Ino wiped the tears from her eyes and smiled brightly, "Thank you everyone." _

_Then, a brown hair boy walked into the restaurant with his parents. With that, a girl in the group whispered, "Hey, if I remember it clearly, today's Shikamaru's birthday too!"_

_"Really?"_

_Ino blinked and looked at the family that just entered and smiled, "Hey, let's give him a birthday blessing too then!" The blonde girl stepped out of her spot and walked towards the family. Her groups of friends stared at the scene curiously because Ino did not know that Shikamaru kid very well. Why would she...?_

_"Shikamaru-kun," Ino grinned and looked at the boy. _

_"What?" Shikamaru replied with his innocent looking face. His parents were looking at the girl too while realizing that Ino was the daughter of their old friends, Yamanaka Inoshi. _

_"Happy 10th birthday, Shikamaru-kun!" In a split second, she planted a quick kiss on the boy's cheek. He went completely red within a second. At the same time, the places were filled with people looking at them with a wide opened mouth. She did not care and she assumed that Shikamaru did not care too. "Come on! Let's eat the cake together!" She held his hand in hers and walked back to where her friends were seated. Together, Shikamaru and Ino took a picture together in front of the cake. _

_And during that whole time when the picture was taken, she was HOLDING his hand. _

_"Hm? Ino-chan?" Shikamaru blushed as he called for her name. In return, Ino looked at his face questionably. The boy smiled, blushing even brighter, "my birthday was yesterday." _

Ino blankly stared at her right hand and put a smile on. Swiftly, she slid the picture out of the album and held it between her fingers. _Do you still remember what happened here, Shikamaru?_ She climbed off the bed and tucked the picture safely into her wallet.

* * *

The two jounins panted for air. Yes, they had been training with each other ever since they completed a mission together at the hidden mist village. They realized that they would make a great training partner and also a team. Though they did not have the same fighting style, they had a brain that could function and work well under any circumstance.

Both Shikamaru and Temari sat themselves against the tree trunk, opposite from each other. Shikamaru never liked to be too close to girls and Temari was no exception. Sometimes, other jounins who did not know this boy too well thought that he had no interest in girls at all. Why wouldn't he want to take this chance of getting close to a hot girl? Did he have someone else to love or was he just planning to not get a girlfriend at all? He wiped the sweat off his forehead and stood up. "Let's try that again, Temari."

The blonde looked over her shoulder and spoke out in a quiet tone, "Let's not. You were very distracted."

The shadow boy placed his hands onto his hips and asked lazily, "How was I distracted? I was paying attention all the time."

Temari stood up and turned her head to his direction. He backed away a bit when she stopped in front of him. The woman grabbed his arm forcefully and raised it high in the air; he winced at the sudden pain flowing through the arm, "If you weren't distracted, why would you get hit by a kunai on the arm?"

Shikamaru withdrawn his arm from the woman and snorted, "There's always accidents and injuries in training, Temari."

"That was just a simple strike, Shikamaru," she pulled out a handkerchief from her pocket and wiped off the blood from his arm. As if the contact burnt his wound, Shikamaru took a step away from her and grabbed the handkerchief from her hand. She already got used to it. Temari sighed and stared at him, "It would be funny if I tell other jounins that you cannot even dodge a kunai which was obvious to catch."

"Troublesome."

"Let's just call it a day then," the woman went over to where their belongings sat and stuffed her weapons in, "Besides, it's getting late already. I am sure my brothers are getting worried."

"Getting worried? Just when did your brothers will get worried about you?" Shikamaru smirked and threw the backpack over his shoulders.

Temari smirked back and teased, "they are worried about YOU getting beaten up by me!"

The boy shrugged his shoulders and stared at the grass, "I doubt that you can even touch a single trend of hair of-" Without even finishing the whole sentence, he received a hard smack on his injured arm and he immediately grunted at the pain and sighed, "fine, you are capable of beating me up."

The woman turned around and walked towards the direction of her apartment when suddenly a voice called for her, "Temari?" She looked over her shoulder as a response to his call. In the darkness, she noticed that he began to walk towards her and stopped beside her.

"I will walk you home."

Temari was startled by his offered but soon recovered from the shock. She simply nodded her head and waited for the boy to catch up.

Throughout their journey back to her house was completely quiet and boring, Shikamaru was yawning and hoping that they would be there soon. Actually, this offer was just an excuse of not going home too early. He did not know how to face Ino anymore. On the other hand, Temari was in a good mood. If only the boy turned and looked at her for a second, he would notice how pink her cheeks were and how happily she was smiling to herself. This woman had a small crush on Shikamaru. In fact, she liked him a lot. She stared at the boy's shadow and her own, she smiled at how close their shadows were standing next to each other.

However, her happiness was soon over. They arrived to their destination already.

* * *

**The clock struck eleven.**

Ino replaced her normal outfit with her pajamas: a white tank top and a pair of gray shorts. She untied her ponytail and allowed her blonde hair to lie peacefully onto her shoulders. She sat at the desk and stared at the clock as time ticked away. _She was waiting for him to come back._

Then, she heard showering going on in the master bedroom. That was when she gave up the thought of staying up till he came back. _Better go to bed now or else the adults will see me as a late sleeper._ Ino switched off the light and hop onto the bed. She let out a relaxed sigh and pulled the blanket over her chin. She rolled the blanket around her slim body and sniffed the scent. _It smells like Shikamaru._ She brought it up to her nose and sniffed the smell once again. She was starting to like this musky smell.

Her whole body relaxed as she rested her head onto the soft pillow and listened to the bird chirping from outside. _This is so peaceful._ But, the peace around her was broken as soon as she heard the main door of the house opened and closed.

**Shikamaru was back.**

Ino buried her face into the pillow and grabbed the edge of the blanket over her head. In the darkness, she heard him walking upstairs and the doorknob turning. The door peeled opened and shut within a second.

"Ino?" the boy asked quietly.

She wanted to answer him but a rush of anger just came to her head for no reason._ Or maybe there was one. _The girl did not reply him; she was pretending to sleep. Her grip around the blanket tightened and she squeezed her eyes shut.

Shikamaru sighed and sat onto the bed, making Ino's body shifted a bit. He turned his head towards the well-hidden girl and sighed again, "Ino, I know that you are not asleep. Stop pretending that you are." There was still no reply. He sighed deeply again, "If you don't tell me what is going on, I can't help you with anything, Ino." He stood up and stared at her form, "I just want to-"

"Go away you _insensitive_ jerk," Ino mumbled out the words through the blanket.

"Ino, how am I being insensitive and a jerk?" Shikamaru questioned her in a quiet tone.

"Go take a shower, Shikamaru!" She chose not to answer the question, "You smell sweaty!"

Silence greeted them then. There was no more conservation going on between the two teenagers anymore. It was partly because Shikamaru thought it was too troublesome to ask or talk with this girl when she was mad. _What was she angry about anyways?_ Instead of going into the bathroom for a shower, he walked towards the table and took out a stack of papers.

Through the blanket, Ino could faintly hear Shikamaru scribbling something onto a piece of paper. Asuma said that the boy thought answering question on the test was troublesome. It was a test! Why would he be writing something now? Then, she heard the bathroom door shut.

Out of curiosity, Ino slid out of the bed and walked towards the desk. Her hand reached for the table lamp and the whole room lighted dimly. She looked at the tiny notes he wrote and, suddenly, cracked out a smile. She picked up the tiny paper and read the passage in a soft tone.

_"My insensitiveness does not prove how little I care about you. Just tell this 'jerk' what happened when I come back from shower, okay?" _

Ino giggled and grabbed the pencil into her hand. She scribbled something right below what he wrote.

_"I guess this troublesome woman will let the jerk to think about the answer tonight. Go to bed early, Shikamaru." _

With that, she happily crawled back into the warm blanket and rested herself again, this time, with a smile on.

**End of Chapter 3**

**A/N: **hopefully that chapter 4 will be updated soon! But im lack of inspiration lately! Mind giving me suggestion for the next chappie people?


	4. The quick and simple Kiss

**KaiKaiCutie: **i got my quotes from the internet. I just thought that they can make the story sounds more...you know! anyways! sorry for the delay in updating again! hope you'll like this chappie!

**babykitty2270:** I apologize for updating the story after couple of months! let's hope this is still a "GOOD, HEARTWARMING, FANTASTIC, SHIKAINO STORY" for you! Please enjoy this chappie!

**Liltoughiepunkie:** update! please enjoy!

**i-x3-shikamaru: **hohoho! thank you for your review!

**Shadowfox98: **thank you! i love shikaino too! they are just so cute!

**kyuubi kitty: **i dun like temari at all either! but some people do like her! so better not say anything here XD!

**cutiepie777: **sorry for the late update!

**Shika-Kun:** haha! uh oh! i better grab you a puke bag whenever there are temari and shika scene then because -ahem- i need one while im making a scene for those two too!

**gclp: **haha...im sure he will! but just not this soon! XD...wait and see!

**ishgreeklady:** i know! that line was super sweet and cute! saw that on the internet once! so just wanna take that to add some sweetness into the chappie XD! enjoy!

**amwong88:** i hope they can end up with each other too! i mean...this is THEIR story after all xD!

**iA-yOh aka Fuyu Kuro: **thank you thank you! hope you'll like this chappie too!

**Matt and T.K:** uh oh uh oh! i am so sorry! had a huge writer block...and dunno how to put my thinking into words XD! And btw! Your name reminds me of digimon XD! Haha...

* * *

**Chapter 4: The quick and simple Kiss**

_**Happiness is not something you postpone for the future; **_

_**it is something you design for the present.**_

The morning finally arrived and the sun shone its light onto the village of Konoha.

Being a light sleeper as always, Ino shifted under the warm blanket and buried her face deeper into the soft pillow. _It's time wake up, Ino._ The blonde hair girl lied flat on the mattress with her stomach facing the ceiling. Her baby blue orbs greeting the sunshine as she let out a soft sigh. "Good morning, my brand new day!" Quickly, she rose from the bed and looked out the window. Sliding opened the curtains, she heard a groan behind her.

_Shikamaru..._

Ino closed the curtains, returning the room with its original not-as-bright colour. She turned her attention to the sofa, where her former teammate was sleeping on, and formed a small smile with her lips. Getting out of the bed and heading towards the couch, she knelt down until her face was directly in front of his. _This sleepy head is still sleeping and dreaming, eh?_ Unconsciously, she found her finger tracing the outline of his face.

_This is the eye, the nose, the jaw..._ Ino mentally slapped herself for doing that.

She withdrawn her hands and stared at his face, "Just what in the world were you doing, Ino?" she asked herself in a whisper, "Get hold of yourself." She stood up from the spot and immediately realized that Shikamaru was covered not by a warm blanket, but just a jacket taken from the hanger. The girl grabbed the blanket she used for the night and gently placed it on top of the boy's body. She adjusted the blanket until it was covering every inch of his body except for the head.

When she was about to walk off for the bathroom, she heard a murmur from the shadow boy, "thank you, Ino..."

In a split second, her face was heated up and turned very red. _Was he awake for the whole time?_ She turned to the direction of the bathroom and blushed harder. _More importantly, did he know that I was staring at him for this whole time?_ She shook the thoughts away and slowly proceeded to the bathroom.

She splashed the cold water onto her heated face and sighed sharply. _Just what is going on with you, Ino?_ Then, she combed her tangled hair with her cold fingers. _Something is going wrong with you, isn't it, Ino?_ She stared herself in the reflection and sighed. Running the toothbrush on the surface of her teeth and grinning brightly after everything was done.

She walked out of the bathroom with only a tight t-shirt and a pair of shorts on. As soon as she entered the bedroom, she noticed that he had invaded her bed.

* * *

Tightening his grip onto the warm blanket, he looked at the ceiling with his half-opened eyes. _I never knew sleeping on a couch is a harsh experience for me. _Almost for the whole night, he was half-awake. It was not because that he was that kind of shinobi who would use his sense to detect his surrounding. It was just because that the couch was too small for a big boy like him to sleep comfortable on. _Plus, I didn't know that sleeping without a blanket would be this difficult too._

Sitting on the sofa and wrapping the blanket around his shoulders, he dashed towards his, or her, unoccupied bed and lied on it. _This is so warm..._ He yawned once and yawned again until his muscles relaxed and mind went empty, or maybe not. _Ino..._ His eyes shot opened at what he just thought. _The smell of her sweet perfume..._

_This is not right..._ He rose from the bed and smiled, "But it feels right." With a soft and short sigh, he fell back onto the bed with his eyes closed.

It did not take him long to fall back asleep again with that comfortable mattress under his weight, with the warm blanket around his body, and most important, her smell filled up the area around him. Barely, he could hear she turning off the water running water and sighing deeply.

_What is bugging you, Ino? Is it the same thing that is bugging me now?_

He hugged the blanket tighter, hoping to get more warmth from the object. He was shivering like crazy for the whole night. _From now on, I will feel lucky for having a home._ He sighed again and whispered silently to himself, "and I will feel lucky for having her in my home..."

Faintly, he could hear chatters from the streets and birds chirping on a tree branch. _And this is all so peaceful._ He rolled to the other side of the bed, grabbing the pillow when he did. He held the pillow tight against his chest as if the blanket wasn't enough to keep him warm. "Ino, why do you smell so good?" he mumbled against the thin air with his eyes closed.

He was tired. Shikamaru yawned silently and relaxed his mind and his body. From time to time, he could hear Ino pacing back and forth in the bathroom, putting objects up and down onto the counter, whispering something into his ears. _But I can't hear anything she was saying to me..._

Unconsciously, he grabbed her wrist and pulled her close to him. When he could sense her heat radiating near his body, he asked in a mumble, "what did you say, Ino?"

He waited patiently for her reply; yet, he kept his hand firmly around her tiny wrist. He waited and waited. Just when he was about to open his eyes to repeat his question again, he found that she did response to his question, in a different way, however. He felt something graze his lips quickly, in a split second.

He had no choice but to snap open his eyes because it felt like a **kiss**.

* * *

Ino moved away immediately after she realized what she did. _What did i do!_ She covered her mouth with her hand and stared at Shikamaru when he opened his eyes.

"What was that?" he grunted out as he pushed himself up with his elbow. He was still half asleep, juding from the way his eyes looked. _But he always looks like this!_ Ino stood up from the spot and avoided direct contact with his brown orbs. But the way she blushed betrayed her, he knew what it was.

With a grunt, he pushed the blanket aside and sat up on the bed. He ran a hand lazily through his ponytail and yawned, "What did you do, Ino?"

Ino regulated her temperature and waved hand in front of her, "I didn't do anything, Shikamaru."

"Is that so?" He got up from the bed and walked pass her, accidentally brushing his arm against her shoulder. That, certainly, made the girl, once again, blushed madly. She did not understand why she was blushing this hard whenever he touches her, intentionally or by accident. Maybe there was going to be a further relationship development between the two of them after all. Before Shikamaru exited the bedroom for the corridor, he smirked, "Ino...I never liked short and quick kisses."

With that, he closed the door behind him.

Ino smiled dumbly to herself. A part of her was glad that Shikamaru did not show hatred for her after that kiss; another part of her was embarrassed that he knew that that was a kiss. _But does it matter now?_ Shikamaru probably treated it as something friends would do. She smiled.

"Nara Shikamaru, that was not a kiss!" she yelled out on top of her lungs as she dashed for the door too.

* * *

**She blushed again.**

"Ino, are you having a fever or something?" A certain pink hair girl smirked when she saw her best friend blushing furiously, "you have been blushing madly for the whole day already."

"No, I have not!" Ino stuck her tongue out of her and continued eating her ramen.

Sakura and Ino were out at Ichiraku for lunch. They were not insulting or hating each other ever since Sasuke left the village for the sound and for the revenge of his brother. It was known that he successfully got his revenge; yet, the raven hair boy never returned to the village. _There is no news about Sasuke at all... _But Sakura still believed that Sasuke was going to come back home one day.

"So," Sakura asked in a cheerful manner, "how did living with Shikamaru go last night?"

Ino blinked at the question and a ghost of smile passed her lips, "it was great!"

Sakura looked at her friend with curiosity and whispered into her ear, "was he warm?"

The air was filled with embarrassment then. "What do you mean, Sakura?" Ino stood up from the stool and exclaimed at the question with a loud voice, causing every customer into the store to look at her direction. Sakura giggled as she set her friend back to the stool, giving her a _calm-down-Ino _smile. The blonde hair girl lowered her voice and stated the fact, "I didn't even sleep with him last night!"

"You are lying!" Sakura pointed her chopsticks at Ino and teased, "you are blushing already!"

"Sakura!" A vein popped out of her forehead, "it's just..."

_Get hold of youself, Ino!_ She realized that every time that wooden chopsticks grazed over her lips gently, her head would recall the morning when she gave a light kiss to him with her lips. _That's right! The same pair of lips!_ She couldn't help but blush at the thought. She regretted of not thinking properly back then. _No, I am not!_ At the same time, she was glad that she experienced the warmth and softness of his lips. Although he did not react to that incident, she was still happy that she had the chance.

Ino leaned over to Sakura and mumbled softly into her ear.

Knowing that Sakura had always been a girl with huge reaction, the girl yelled out, "You kissed him?" Feeling as embarrassed, or even more embarrassed, as before, Ino bowed her head down and proceeded out of the store. _There is just no way that I am going to eat at Ichiraku for my entire life ever again! _People were all staring at the pair of girls and mumbling something they could not hear. When Sakura realized how loud she was, she followed Ino out of the store with her hands covering her big mouth.

When they noticed they were far enough from the store, Sakura whispered again, "did you really kiss him this morning?"

"Why would I lie about that, Sakura?" Ino still bowed her head down, gripping the side of her skirt tightly, "Well, I lied that I didn't when he asked though."

The pink hair girl held Ino's arm and a playful smile hanging on her lips, "How did it feel like?" She looked at her friend with the sparkling eyes, "Was it warm?"

Ino nodded her head dumbly.

Sakura got more excited and asked another question, "was it soft?"

Ino nodded her head once again.

"Oh my god!" The girl jumped up and down and smiled brightly, "was it sweet?"

Another nod from the helpless girl.

"Was it-" Sakura stopped short and stood up straight, looking over Ino's shoulder, "Hi, Shikamaru!"

Ino quickly turned around and only realized the boy was standing few inches away from her, she stepped backward and almost lost her balance, "Shikamaru!" _All right, Ino. You look stupid._ Thanks to Sakura who caught her from falling in time or else she would really be looking stupid. "Finished your training already?"

Shikamaru tucked his hands into his pocket and yawned, "Tsunade-sama called for us," he gave Sakura an _I-have-to-take-Ino-from-here-now _glaze, "She ordered me to bring you to her office."

"All-"

"All right!" Sakura replied even faster than the person who was ordered. Sakura smacked Ino on the back so hard that she fell forward and crashed onto the boy's chest. Almost immediately, he held her firmly on her arms but didn't push her away. The pink hair girl stuck her tongue out playfully, "I am sorry, you guys!"

"It's okay," Shikamaru yawned again, "I have to bring her with me anyways." With that, he placed an arm on Ino's back and pushed her toward the path, "See you, Sakura!"

"Have fun!" Sakura waved her hand in the air as she watched the two of them walking away from her. Ino refused to stare at Sakura's face after that "careless" smack. She knew Sakura would be smiling sweetly or laughing at her right now.

* * *

Both Shikamaru and Ino knocked twice on the door before entering the Hokage office. Tsunade sat comfortably at her seat with ton-ton in her arms, "Please come forward, Ino and Shikamaru." Shizune was apparently not inside the building or else she would be standing by the side of the Hokage.

"What is so important that you must speak with the two of us, Tsunade-sama?" Ino asked politely. She always admired the Hokage's strength and beauty._Although she used trick to make her this beautiful. _She respected her and always dreamt that she could become a strong woman, like her, in the near future too.

Shikamaru, on the other hand, looked at the Hokage rudely and yawned loudly, "What do you want with us today, Hokage-sama?"

Tsunade's vein popped out but decided to hold her anger anyways, "I called for you to inform you two that the adults of your houses are sent to a mission."

"while my mom is not even a shinobi?" The shadow boy questioned the woman with a smirk. _There is just something going on here._

Ino elbowed Shikamaru on the stomach hard and asked the woman nicely, "what mission were they assigned to?"

Tsunade put her palms together and smiled, "an investigation of a newly found medicine," she turned to Shikamaru afterwards, "and for your information, Nara Shikamaru, your mom went along with your father willingly and accepted the mission."

"Ah-" The two teenagers replied. With that and a bow to the Hokage, Shikamaru and Ino exited the door quietly, thinking about the same problem that each other was thinking.

_**We are going to be alone in the house for a certain amount of time.**_

Walking back to the Nara resident without a single word to each other, Shikamaru decided to break the awkward silence, "Ino?"

The girl replied with an Hn as to tell him that yes, she was listening.

"Since my mother is leaving the house unattended, you have to take the role of being the woman of the house," Shikamaru smirked and put his hands behind his head, "You have to cook the three meals of the day, do the laundry, wash the toilet, tidy the house, and most importantly, wake me up in the morning."

"There's no way I am doing that," Ino widened her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest, "I am the guest after all!"

"No you are not!" Shikamaru laughed teasingly and joked, "you are part of the family now!"

Ino smacked him on the arm with force and yelled, "How am I being the part of **YOUR** family now, Shikamaru?" She knew that she shouldn't have asked the question, but she couldn't stop her mouth on time. She knew that if they were going to continue with this conversation, she was going to blush again.

Shikamaru stopped walked and turned to her, "You don't know the reason, Ino?" He pointed at his lips and reminded her, "don't you remember what did you to me this morning?"

Holding her blush and embarrassment, with a loud and angry sigh, Ino walked off from her position with the smirking Shikamara tagging along behind her, towards the setting sun.

**End of Chapter 4**

**A/N: Hope you all liked this chappie took me a real long time to think or type it out! im so sorry. But, probably not going to make an update for couple for weeks? I hope there will be one though. Lots of exams coming up for me and still having a huge writer block! Thank you everyone for reading this chapter! **


	5. The Tangled Feeling

**amwong88:** i know! i love sweet and sexy guys! haha! anyways, hope you'll like this chappie cuz Shikamaru is pretty sexy at the end too! but...omg! please dun skip everything and JUST read the end XD! enjoy!

**naash:** awwww...thank you! but here's so little shikaino on the net! ughhh...i wanna read them too!

**babykitty2270:** hehe! yup yup! but dun worry! one day, he is going to kiss her back! hope you'll like this chapter!

**Akino Matoumiken:** haha! i know, the kiss and the role thing are kinda sweet! and here's another update! hope you'll enjoy this one as well!

**KaiKaiCutie:** thanks thanks!

**Uzamaki-Girl:** hope you'll like this chapter too then!

**Lilitoughiepunkie:** haha! he is gonna get owned someday! not gonna let the boy wins all the time! haha...

**Gonrie:** haha XD! an update an update! and omg! i wanna kick her out too...but! still need her in the later parts of the story! hehe! hang in there! hold your anger lolx...

**LanzaDeChu:** ahhh! im gonna run away from you! lolx...but before i do...THANKS! lolx.

**Dyeh:** thank you thank you! and phew done the exams! and now focus on the story! hehe! hope you'll overcome your writer block soon!

**oztan:** thanks for your review! and...hey! you'll love this chappie too, i hope!

**Hikari-03:** not going to give up! haha...another fluffy chappie! hope you'll like it!

**Iyakon Sobek:** thank you for your offer! and thank you for all the wonderful ideas! i will add them in as the story goes on! hehe! all nice ideas! thank you so muchie!

**iA-yOh aka Fuyu Kuro:** omg! my mother thought i was crazee too when i was typing out the chapters! lolx. but it's all right! they are mothers, a huge generation gap! lolx.

**cutiepie777:** thanks for you reivew!

**Shika-Kun:** yay! i got two reviews from you! lolx...anyways! he is perfect, i know! but this kind of man doesn't exist on this planet! too bad! anyways, i am going to charge some temari in later! get your armor ready!

**-Kristine x3-:** read half way of your story! it's great and cute cute! hehe...will review later when i finish the whole thing! hehe! thanks for your review and your reminder!

* * *

**Chapter 5: The Tangled Feeling**

Waking up. Brushing up. Cooking breakfast. Yelling on the top of her lung until Shikamaru woke up.  
Preparing everything for him. Making bed and cleaning up the room. Forcing him downstairs.  
Watching him eat breakfast. Washing the dishes. Pushing him out of the door. Slamming it shut.

She was already used to this daily routine after a couple of days; Ino was already used to his laziness.

This morning was another sunny and hot day. Ino got up from the bed and took a quick gaze that the sleeping Shikamaru. _What a lazy bum!_ Grabbing her clothes and other accessories from the closet, she quietly proceeded to the washroom to do the washing up. Not only was she used to it, but she was also tired of it. Never in her life did she thought that being the only woman of the house would be this difficult. It was probably because the man she needed to take care of was Shikamaru.

She switched off the running water and changed into her outfit. She pulled the t-shirt over her head and slid into the pair of shorts. Then, she stormed out the bathroom and rushed downstairs for the kitchen. Grabbing the frying pan and tools from the shelves, she cracked open two eggs and started scrambing them while yelling out on the top of her lungs, "Shikamaru, it's time to wake up!"

Adding a little bit of salt and water along with the half-cooked eggs, she yelled again, "Shikamaru, it's time to wake up!"

Quickly and efficiently, she placed the eggs neatly on a plate, putting few trends of hams and carrots beside them. Ino wiped her hands with a cloth as she ran towards the staircase and up to his bedroom. Without knocking or signalling, she opened the door.

Shikamaru was still lying flat on the couch with the blanket half fallen onto the floor. Ino grabbed the collar of his shirt and shook him awake, "Shikamaru, you are going to be late!"

He groaned out and rolled to the other side of the couch, "troublesome..."

"Come on!" The girl pulled his arm with all her might and pushed him to the unoccupied bathroom. Handing him a toothbrush and a cup of water, the blonde hair girl left the washroom and walked to the closet where his clothes were stored. She grabbed a turtle-neck shirt, a pair of pants, a net shirt, socks and the Konoha forehead protector and waited patiently outside the bathroom door.

As soon as the shadow boy was finished washing up, she threw everything to him and, once again, pushed him into the washroom. At the same time, she helped him packed the training bag. She put kunai, scrolls, needles, explosive tags and soldier pills into his bag and zipped it up, "Shikamaru, hurry up!"

"I am coming!" Still sounding as sleepy as ever, Shikamaru managed to let out a reply.

Ino pushed him downstairs. Shikamaru sat by the wooden table and started consuming the food Ino cooked.

He was not afraid of eating the whole thing already. He was already used to her bad cooked meals. Shikamaru never complained though because he was glad that he had a woman to cook for his meals before, during and after his training. He let out a light smile.

"Ino," He called out her name between the chewing.

The girl took a deep sigh and placed her hands onto her hips, "What is it now, Shikamaru!" Sweat was matted over her forehead and her cheeks flushed up because of the rush and movements. The apron began to loosen up and so was her ponytail, "I know I am a bad cook but you just have to live with it!"

Shikamaru let out a light chuckle and took a sip from the glasses of orange juice. He patted the seat next to him to signal her to sit down. And she did. "Ino, you are so troublesome," he teased and grabbed her hand just in time before she smacked his face. Then, he added, "but also the best woman of the house at the moment."

She blushed slightly at the compliment and looked away, "stop talking and start eating, or else you are going to be late!"

Before listening to her order, he pulled her close and whispered into her ear, "you will make a great housewife in the near future," With that, he pushed her away gently and slid the egg between his lips.

Only if he took another gaze at the girl, he would realize how hard she was blushing.

Or maybe, he knew that she was, even without looking.

At that meantime, Ino was busy pacing back and forth around the house. She grabbed his green vest in her arms and looked at the clock. _8:49... _The girl gasped and hurried to where Shikamaru was eating. She almost tripped herself, "Shikamaru, hurry up!"

Waiting impatiently for him to finish the breakfast, she pulled him out of the chair roughly and slided the vest onto his board shoulders. She turned him around and pushed him towards the door.

"How troublesome..." He mumbled and she heard it. That was the reason why a side of his cheeks was red when he walked out of the door. Hiding it was no use, the slap was just too big to cover up. Or maybe he didn't even want to hide the mark. _Yes, I am going to tell everyone how women are troublesome and violent creatures._ Then, he walked off.

Not soon after, Ino ran out of the door for the academy school too.

* * *

"Once upon a time, there was a little girl..." Ino was reading a story for her students. Yes, she was a sensei in the academy school now though she was not those who could train and teach the students how to become a shinobi. Her job was to baby-sit younger graders. "Her wish was to become a ninja..." She and her group of students were sitting out in the field under the sun, with flowers sitting beside them.

"Sensei!" One of the little boys raised his hand. Ino paused at look at him, he smiled brightly, "did you want to become a ninja when you were young, sensei?"

Ino smiled and recalled the reason she wanted to become a shinobi. _Uchiha Sasuke..._ The girl sighed happily and replied, "of course I did, but I wasn't a good shinobi." Ino randomly picked up a flower and smiled again, "but I was good at picking flowers!"

They laughed and one of them suggested, "can we pick flowers today too?"

The blonde hair girl nodded and added, "We can if the boys don't mind. But plants can be very useful in a shinobi's life too!"

"Then we're in!" All the boys raised their hands.

"All right!" Ino stood up from her spot and the little children followed, "let's go to where the river is then!"

The children ran towards the direction of the river with Ino tagging slowly behind them. _I was once a little kid just like them..._ She looked up at the blue and bright sky. _And you were one of those little kids too..._

_**The past is malleable and flexible, changing as our recollection interprets and re-explains what has happened.**_

Ino sat on the grass, constantly picking flowers from the ground and put them into her basket. She loved putting them into a vase and displayed her masterpiece. _It would be if someone does that for me though..._ She looked at the running children and reminded them, "don't chasing each other near the river!"

She ran a hand through her soft hair. She loved the way the wind was making her hair float in the air and how the scent of the sweet flowers got into her nose after every blowing wind. _Wouldn't it be nice if time can be forever like this?_ She looked at the flower she picked. _Lily. _And smiled as she recalled back to her memories..._If only time can turn back..._

_"Shikamaru, just how long are you planning to lie here!" Ino yelled at the shadow boy. "I thought we are going to visit Asuma-sensei!" _

_"Ino, Ino!" Chouji pulled her sleeves while holding a bag of chips in his hands, "Do you think we should bring sensei some chips?" _

_The blonde hair girl turned to Chouji and her face boiled up, "Sensei is sick and injured! You expect us to bring chips when he is trying to recover from injuries?" She stared at Chouji and back to Shikamaru, "why are you boys so...URG!" _

_Shikamaru snorted and rose from his spot, "what do you want to give him then?" he yawned as if he didn't care about his sensei, "troublesome woman..." _

_"Shikamaru!" _

_"Shikamaru's right! You should just bring him chips!" Chouji sat beside the boy and stared chewing on his potato chips again, "they are yummy!" _

_Ino just couldn't hold it anymore, "That's it! If you guys are not going, I will go alone!" With that, she turned around furiously, storming off for the hospital. Suddenly, Shikamaru's lazy voice called her name. Feeling as annoyed as ever, she turned around and yelled out, "What-" but she was stunned by the object she saw in his hand. _

_"Get him lilies," Shikamaru looked at her with his small eyes, "they are beautiful and sweet." _

_Ino sighed and argued, "you are ssaying that we should pick random lilies from the-" _

_"They are just like you." When his brain finally realized what he said, he blinked and looked away, "I mean...they can remind him of you." _

_The girl kept her eyes on the boy's face, thinking that 'is he getting hot or is he blushing?' and 'did he just say I'm beautiful?'_

Ino was drown into her own memories and didn't realize how close the children were looking and surrounding her. One of the students took a huge breath and yelled out once again, "Hello! Earth to Ino-sensei!" Yes, she heard that.

She dropped the lily onto the grass and replied the student with a blush, "Sorry, what is it?"

"Can we go back now?" The child held the flowers in front of her, "We picked lots and we want to put them into a vase!"

Ino stood up from her spot and replied, "all right, let's go back to the classroom." She patted the grass off her dress and slowly followed the running children. Suddenly, she felt dizzy. She was either sitting under the sun for too long, or she was too tired from the work she did in the morning. _Probably going to be fine. _She chose to ignore it. But it didn't work.

"Ino-sensei, hurry up!" One of the girls turned around for her teacher but realized that her teacher had fallen and fainted onto the ground. The little girl dropped her basket and cried out loud, "Everyone, Ino-sensei fainted!" Then, they all ran towards her.

Inside Ino's head was nothing except for the children calling for her name...

* * *

Shikamaru threw few kunai towards Lee who kicked them away with his feet right after. The kunai flew back towards Shikamaru and were struck onto the tree trunk behind him. The bobbed hair boy challenged, "Come on, Shikamaru! You can do better than that!"

_Troublesome..._ The shadow boy yawned and waved at Lee, "can't we just take a short short break?"

"Impossible!" Lee walked to him seriously and grinned, "let's your youth of flame burn bright while you are still young, Shikamaru!"

_Oh my god. _Shikamaru stared into the hardworking ninja's eyes,"Can we please take a break, Lee?"

Lee sensed the danger and immediately jumped few meters away from Shikamaru before the shadow caught him. He shook his head, "Shikamaru, that was tricky!"

"But it was the only way to stop you from training," he mumbled. _He is just full of energy, isn't he?_ Shikamaru unwillingly stood up and aimed another few kunai at the green beast. At the same time, Konohamaru suddenly appeared behind one of the trees.

The little boy was running towards him, panting for air, "Shikamaru-niichan!"

Shikamaru smiled at the little disturbance. _At least I get to take a one minute break now._ He tucked his hands into his pocket and yawned, "what's wrong? You look horrified..."

"Of course," Konohamaru wiped the sweat away from his forehead, "Ino-neechan fainted."

_What? Ino is- what! _Shikamaru raised an eyebrow and pretended he didn't care about that news at all, "So what? She is with the nurses now, right?" Konohamaru nodded gracefully. Shikamaru looked away and started playing with the kunai with his fingers, "then it's fine."

"Oh, Shikamaru." Lee shook his head and narrowed his eyes at him, "Go take a look, maybe she is having a serious illness!"

Shikamaru looked at Lee and his shinning eyes, sighed, "Alright, I will train with you another day!" With a fast hand motion, he disappeared into a cloud of smoke. Deep inside Lee's heart, he knew his training partner was dying to go to the nursing room and see her. _But he was just that kind of guy..._ Lee shook his head and chuckled.

* * *

**Poof! **"How is she?" Shikamaru asked calmly as soon as he arrived to the nursing room. Sakura was treating Ino, who was lying on the bed, unconscious. The shadow boy asked again, this time with more force, "Sakura, I am asking how's Ino?"

The pink hair girl smiled, "She will be fine in a day or two." Sakura poured herself a glass of water and smiled again, "she just overwork these days. I bet she was doing everything for you, Shikamaru."

Heturned away. _Troublesome..._

Sakura giggled and pulled Shikamaru to the edge of the bed, "Why don't you carry her back home now? She needs some rest."

"But-"

"I've already spoken to Tsunade-sama about Ino and you missing a few days of work," Sakura patted him on the shoulder and whispered softly, "Don't worry too much. I think Ino should be the most important person to you right now, right?" He remained silent as hescooped Ino onto his back. He walked out out the nursing room, thanking Sakura for the hospitality. With that, he disappeared into the corridor.

Sakura stared at his leaving form and smiled. _Silly dude..._

Shikamaru could feel Ino's slow breathing hitting the back of his neck. He would blush every time she did. He liked the way her body was leaning against his back entirely; he liked the way she was looking when she had her eyes closed; he liked the way her hair was matted onto his shoulder and arm. **BUT...**_I don't like you to be sick and ill, Ino..._

**It was raining outside...**

He gently placed her onto a chair, taking off his jacket and placing it around her, before picking her up into his arms in bridal style. Together, with the sleeping Ino in his embrace, he slowly walked for his house along the dim street. Once a while, Ino's head could contact his chest, making his heart skipped for a second. Sometimes, her hair would tickle his arms which made him smiledand also felt lucky that he could have her in his arms.

Shikamaru looked down at her peaceful face. A part of him wanted to do what she did few mornings ago. _That short and simple kiss._ But he didn't dare to, not even on her forehead. He was afraid. He was scared that she would hate him for doing that. He was scared that he could not control himself anymore. There was a certain kind of feeling, a different kind of feeling, developing inside him. He didn't know what it was.

But, he knew that if he didn't hide it, he would lose this childhood friend...

**They got into the house.**

He grabbed a big towel from the washroom after he set Ino onto the bed. He wiped her dry from head to toe, of course, he didn't dare to touch any _-ahem-_ other part of her body during the process. After that was done, he threw the towel into a corner in the bathroom. Shikamaru took a chance to look at how neat Ino made his house and room into. He was glad and proud. _And I never take the chance of thanking you..._

He gently pulled the blanket over her chins and switched off the lights. Instead of going back to where he was suppose to sleep, he grabbed a chair and pulled itto the edge of the bed. He was going to sit there for the entire night.

He was planning to watch her all night long...

and he knew that was all he could do.

**End of Chapter 5**

**A/N: Whao! I updated faster than i thought! haha XD! exams all over! JUST over, i should say! hopefully i did fine in all of them! and omg, imediting this at 1 something in the morning. I am sorry if there are mistakes and what-so-ever! just wanted to update this chappie as fast as i can! haha! anyways, hope you all liked it! and thanks for everyone's reviews!**


	6. Massive Chaos

**oztan: **hehe! glad you figured out their age yourself! anyways! thank you for your review! love this chapter too, please?

**Iyakon Sobek: **I will certainly read your narutofic! haha, cuz im a naruto fan afterall! anyways, sorry for the screwy grammar and lack of flow! but omg, im just this bad at grammar and structures! lolx. i will try to improve! try, that is! lols. enjoy this chappie!

**Hlomondodeli Majoribanks:** glad to hear that you'll be starting to create some great stories too! i will be cheering you on! anyways, you were right! i am going to make them do chores together but it wouldn't take a huge part of the story though! i have wink an idea in mind! lolx. enjoy this chappie!

**Matt and T.K:** lolx. chouji didn't disappear! but i was just too lazy to explain that he was too busy eating his chips! lolx. anyways! an update! and be prepare for it! this chappie is even sweeter! keke! lolx.

**LilthoughiePunkie: **aw man! you read my mind! ughhh..must destroY! lolx. thanks for your reivew!

**Akino Matoumiken:** thank you thank you! and haha! im glad the pacing isn't going too fast! im afraid that im thinking too ahead of time and making the story looks awkward! hehe! anyways, thanks for your review! and hope you'll find this chappie even sweeeter! hehe!

**PopeYodaI:** i know. TOO FEW! thanks for your review!

**-Kristine x3-:** i finished your story! and hey! you read the review yet? XD. anyways, actions? haha...i am not those action writer type...im lacking the "violent" skill! lolx. im the romance type! lolx. anyways, i will try not to stuff too much strange stuff into my chappie! thanks!

**Dyeh: **haha...nah! i didn't type the whole thing up in one night! i divided it into sections! lolx. well, should really say that i will read whenever inpsiration comes! lolx. but yes, this chappie is realli done in one day! lolx. enjoy this chappie!

**iA-yOh aka Fuyu Kuro: **thank you thank you! and hope you'll like this chapter better! lolx.

**cutiepie777: **chapter 6 delivery! who wants it? -everyone looks and ignores- XD!

**gonrie: **thank you thank you!

**Michiyo-Chan:** thank you for your review! And I shall grant your wish XD!

**Shika-kun: **woohoo! haha, now im using the word too! anyways )! yea, she will be coming! but that will probably be few chappie laters? just needa focus on these two sweeties at this moment! haha. anyhow, bet this chappie will be super fluffy for ya! ) enjoy! and omg...dun get caught by your mom!

* * *

**Chapter 6: Massive Chaos!**

The clock alarm rang. _Beep, beep, beep..._

Ino shifted under her blanket and grunted at the disturbance. _The alarm clock! _She swung her hand to where the clock was suppose to be, but only found that she was touching something spiky and hairy. She let her fingers wandered within that unfamiliar object as she mumbled, "What in the world is this?"

Then, she heard a mumble.

She let her eyes to slowly open and focus at the object she was touching. _Shikamaru! Why is he still here? _Ino gasped at the sight and rose up from the soft bed immediately. _Was he sleeping beside the bed for the entire night! _Then, she shook away the thought. There was something more important to worry about at the moment!

She searched for the clock and it read 9:33am. _Oh my god!_ Ino shook the boy's body violently as she called out, "Shikamaru, you are late! It's almost 10 o'clock now!"

Ino moved the warm blanket away and her toes touched the cold floor. She tapped Shikamaru on the shoulder and yelled out, "Shikamaru! Wake up!" When she saw he had no reaction on her voice at all, she kicked the chair he was sitting on, "Shikamaru!"

"Ino..." The boy grabbed a pillow from the bed and covered his ears with it, "I don't have work today!"

The girl slowed down and squatted next to him, whispered, "Why?" No answer. _He is planning to skip work today!_ She pulled his arm and grunted, "Get your bum out of the stupid chair, Shikamaru!"

Shikamaru opened his eyes and looked at her lazily. _What a troublesome woman... _He stood up from the chair and stretched his tensed muscles, "Sakura asked Hokaga-sama to give me a few days off..." He yawned and rubbed his half opened eyes, "I will be staying at home today." With that, he walked into the washroom and Ino tagged behind him.

"Why though?" Ino looked at him curiously. He brushed his teeth and mumbled something that she could not catch, "what did you say?"

He rinsed the bubble with water and sighed deeply, "She said you should stay home and rest for a few days," he cleaned his face with the towel, "and Sakura told me to take care of you for these couple of days," he combed through his spiky ponytail and added, "but since you are more energized than me now, I am not going to do anything for you."

Ino had her eyes widened. _So he skipped work just for me!_ An evil thought came to her head and she smirked.

Almost suddenly and unpredictably, she let her body to fall backwards and pretended she was fainting. Shikamaru quickly caught her in his arms and raised an eyebrow, "are you doing this on purpose or something?" He stared at her evil smile. He didn't even have to wait for her answer; he knew the answer already.

"I am still feeling a bit _-ahem-_ ill," Ino smirked and put her hand onto her forehead, "I think I might have to stay in bed today."

Shikamaru cracked out a sarcastic chuckled and mumbled, "how troublesome..." He led the 'fainting' Ino to the bed and pulled the blanket over her chin. He turned and walked around from the bed but was called back from her pretending-to-have-a-sore-throat voice. Unwillingly, he turned and looked at her, "what is it now?"

Ino held the edge of the blanket and giggled, "Shikamaru, I am hungry."

He slapped his forehead with his hand and sighed. _How troublesome..._ and yes, today was going to be a troublesome day for him.

* * *

Shikamaru searched for the frying pan. _Where did my mom put this troublesome thing!_ He looked through the shelves and drawers. It had been years that he hadn't touched anything that was kitchen related. He was a guy after all. "Found you!" He roughly pulled the metal pan out of the shelf and sighed, "now where's the pot?"

Meanwhile, he could faintly hear showering going on upstairs. _She is obviously not sick!_ But he had no complain at all. It was time that he should contribute into her daily routine. _I will start by cooking her breakfast. _Again, he was searching for the pot. But he gave up after few minutes of getting nothing in return. He looked at the toaster and sighed, "she can just have a toasted bread this morning."

He sliced few pieces of bread for her. As soon as the buzzer beeped, he took out the toasted bread and coloured in a layer of strawberry jam on them.

At the same time, he heard Ino's half dying, but sexy, voice, "Shikamaru, is breakfast ready?"

The boy sighed and yelled back, "It's ready, ma'am!" Then, he placed the plates and glasses of orange juice onto a tray and carried in upstairs. _How troublesome..._

Shikamaru kicked the door opened which resulted in Ino yelling at him, "Oh my god! Can't you knock the door first?"

He rolled his eyes and sat onto the edge of the bed. He stared at her, or at her pajamas. _She looks cute in that pink thing. _He handed her the tray and stared at her, "here you go! It's not the best thing on earth but I am sure you don't want anything other than these."

But she showed no reaction to the toasts and juice. Shikamaru narrowed his eyes at her, "Now, what do you want?" She smiled and kept her hands under the blanket. _Oh no, please no!_ He backed away from a centimeter and took a deep breath before he said, "open wide, Ino."

And she did.

**Then, the clock struck ten.**

Ino licked her lips and smiled as the orange juice slid down her throat. _This is getting interesting. _She stared at Shikamaru as he was putting the empty plate onto the tray. He looked at her smiling form and sighed deeply. She then put the empty glass onto the tray with a tiny smile on her face.

"You done?" Shikamaru stated the fact and stood up, "Call me whenever you need me then."

Before he could walk away, another demand was order, "Shikamaru!" Ino smiled at him and hugged the blanket tightly, "do the laundry. The dirty clothes stinks!"

_Oh my god!_ He nodded his head and headed towards to washroom. He noticed a dozen of shirts and garments inside a medium size basket. He squatted down beside the basket and narrowed his eyes. _Some of these clothes are clean and fresh..._ He sighed and wondered how long she wanted to play and order him around. He was tired already.

Holding both the tray and basket with his strong arms, he proceeded out of the bedroom. Barely, he could hear her sweet giggles behind the wooden door. He sighed again and mumbled, "troublesome..."

* * *

Ino tidied the bed and smiled. Walking over to his bookshelf, she randomly chose a book to read. _"The missions notebook". _She smiled and flipped to the first page. The papers inside was crumbled and old. Some of the pages were soaked with water and some of the pages were painted with blood.

One page after one page, she flipped it without looking into the content. Looking at the colours of the pages disgusted her enough already. _There must be a lot of killing and fighting required in highly ranked missions..._ She started to worry.

What if one day he was called on one of those missions and was killed by his enemies? What if one day he never returns home?

Ino shook the thoughts away. _There's no way that's happening. Shikamaru's strong. _Then, one of the pages caught her eyes. A clean page filled with nothing but letters written with human blood. Before she could read the letters, she heard a horrifying scream from downstairs.

She dropped the book and her heart pounded. _Shikamaru!_

The girl rushed downstairs quickly, afraid that he was in danger, afraid that he was assassinated by other ninja, afraid that she wasn't able to see him again. When she reached the laundry room, she realized that all her thoughts and fears were all just her imagination.

The laundry room was bubbled up!

"What in the world is going to in here?" Ino exclaimed. _Doesn't he know how to work the washing machine?_

Shikamaru took notice but her voice and turned around, "Ino! Don't come in! The floor is slipper-" before he could finish his warning, he fell down onto the floor and into the still-bubbling place.

Ino gasped and carefully walked towards him. That was what she was trying to do at least. But no matter how cautious she was, she slid through the slippery floor and fell down into the bubble as well. Or to be precise, she fell onto his thighs. "Shikamaru, you are stupid!"

"I thought I told you not to come in!" Shikamaru winced at the sudden rush of pain. He looked at her and teased, "I thought you are a ninja, Ino. Why didn't you concentrate your chakra!"

Ino narrowed her eyes at him and teased back, "and you didn't use your chakra either!" She stared at him for another second before she sighed womanly, "Shikamaru, you are hopeless."

"And you are too!" Shikamaru sighed and pushed her away, "get off of me now!"

"As if I don't want to!" Ino yelled at him with her face flushed red. She carefully stood up from her spot, realizing that her clothes was already soaked with the mixture of bubble and water. Shikamaru pushed himself up from the floor and his clothes was soaked with the same type of liquid too! Ino whined and pouted, "now I feel soapy!"

"And I do too!" Shikamaru sniffed himself and grunted out loud, "this is so troublesome!"

"I am glad that you figure it out," Ino poked his chest with her index finger, and reminded him, "I had to work this washing clothes thing everyday in the morning!" She placed her hands onto her hips and added, "and you are whinning already when this is like the first-"

She tripped _and_ she grabbed the closest object to gain her balance. That happened to be Shikamaru, who was unprepared with the sudden grasp, and he fell down too!

"Oh my heaven!" Ino yelped as her back slammed onto the floor. It hurt, but she rather paid her full attention to the boy, who was lying on top of her, "and _you_ are heavy!"

Shikamaru grunted and supported himself with his elbow, "and you think you are not? You _dragged_ me into this!" He sighed and shook his head, "now let go of me, Ino."

"You get up first!" she blushed in bright red at their distance. Every time he talks, she felt his breath hitting her nose.

"Not when your arm is around me!"

If he didn't tell her, she wouldn't notice that her arm was wrapped around his neck and her nails dug into the collar of his shirt. _Oh my god!_ She withdrawn her arm from him and blushed harder, "I didn't even know! You-you can't-hmph!" she covered her blushing face and grunted, "I am so embarrassed!"

"Yes you are..." He pushed himself up from the floor and offered a hand to her as well. This time, they got up successfully because they used their ninja ability and they didn't want any more physical contact to happen ever again. _At least not in the bubbling laundry room._

Then he shyly looked at her and asked quietly, "up to a shower, Ino?" He tried. He tried to not look at her body but just her face. _I tried not to!_ The pink pajamas was getting a little bit too transparent and revealing a little too much of her curves. Shikamaru turned away and blushed slightly, "We're both going to get sick in these wet clothes..."

The girl looked at his form. Because of the water, his muscles under the white shirt almost seemed visible with bare eyes. He was tall and he was muscular. _And he is starting to look and turn into a real man now. _She blushed at the thought and nodded her head dumbly, "Yes, a shower would be nice..."

* * *

"Shikamaru, can you pass me the shampoo?" Ino called for him when she was showering behind the curtain, "this one is all used up!"

The boy, still blushing really hard, grabbed a shampoo. He allowed his hand, and ONLY his hand to get behind the curtain. His hand could feel the warm water and the heated steam. _How..._ he blushed harder, "Ino, I- how-" he couldn't find the right choice of words. This was the first time that he stood inside a bathroom while someone was showering. _And that someone is a girl too! Hello? _

"Just bear with me!" Ino called out between the splashes of hot water, "If you stand outside the bathroom, the bedroom will be dipped with water!" She ran a hand from her damp hair and sighed comfortably, which only made the boy blushed brighter. Ino added, "Better have the bathroom wet than the bedroom, right?"

"Yeah, but-" He stumbled out his word and just sighed in retreat.

"Owch!" The girl winced at the pain as she rubbed her back, "That fall onto the floor hurts!"

_And now you know..._ Shikamaru stood in front of the sink and dried himself up with a towel. _The detergent is stinking my skin! _He rolled up his sleeves and started scratching the itchy spots. Beside those itchy spots, there were scars and bruises. _Ino, you just don't know how many more bruises I have on my body. _

"Omg, there is a scratch on my arm too!" Ino cried out.

_How troublesome... _Shikamaru sighed and placed his hands onto his hip, "Come on, Ino! Hurry up, will you?"

"I am almost done!" She replied. She switched off the shower and shyly peeked out from the curtain, "Shikamaru?"

The boy turned around, annoyed, sighed, "What do you want, Ino!" The girl blushed slightly and pointed at the object behind him. He turned around and looked at the white cotton thing. _A bathrobe..._ He raised an eyebrow and sighed, "you didn't even..."

"We were soaked!" Ino blushed and pouted, "We didn't even have time to get our clean clothes and-" He held the bathrobe in front of her face, interrupting her sentence. She grabbed it with a 'thanks' and hid behind thoe curtain once again.

When she slid the curtain opened and stepped out of the shower, she stood in front of the mirror beside Shikamaru. He kept his eyes on her reflection, heart pounding harder and faster by each second. _She looks so beautiful when- _Her damp hair was matted onto her skin and the white cotton robe matched her milky and smooth skin perfectly. He just couldn't get his eyes off of her.

"Just how long are you planning to look at me like this!" Ino narrowed her blue eyes at him, "Time to get into the shower! Just look at how stinky you-" She grabbed his arm and a realization hit her. She gasped and cried out, "Oh my god!"

Shikamaru pulled his arm around from her hand quickly and retreated. However, Ino grabbed his arm which made him turned around to face her again. When he was about to say something, he noticed her expression. _She looks worry..._ "What's wrong?"

Ino traced the scars and bruises with her finger and the boy would jerk once a while at the pain, "Shikamaru...how did you get them?"

"From missions and battles, of course." He replied her in a soft tone because she was asking him in a gentle tone as well, "But they are recovering, I think."

The girl stared at the injuries, "Being a jounin is hard, isn't it?"

He nodded his head. He couldn't find the right word to say when she was like this, when she was actually caring about his job and condition. This was the very first time that she was and looked so concerned about the pain he was having. _Why do you care so much, Ino? You are- _

The girl withdrawn her hands from him and remained in the same facial expression, "hopefully I won't have to experience all these things," she chuckled to herself dryly, "or else I don't know how many times I will be whining about all-"

Tears swelled in the corner of her eyes. Yes, she was afraid. What if..._one day, you disappear from my life? What if one day… _"Shikamaru, promise me that you won't-"

He pulled her into his arms as she fell into his gentle embrace. He softly whispered onto the nape of her neck, "I promise that I will be safe..." _...just for you._ He hugged her tightly. It felt so right to have her in his arms. But, he knew everything he was doing was wrong. _Control yourself!._ He released her from his arms and smiled weakly. "I am sorry..." he apologized in a whisper.

She looked stunned and surprised at his action but gave him a genuine smile anyways, "It's all right." She grinned a little and bowed her head, "I will just have to shower again."

Then, he grinned, too.

**End of Chapter 6**

**A/N: haha! this is what i called a cute chappie! lols...and whoops! did i just compliment myself! haha XD! anyhow! hope you all liked this chapter! oh! happy belated valentine's day too! haha! wanted to update a chappie on that special day! but...ended up not updating anymore at all! boowhoo! lolx.**


	7. Always been Afraid

**A/N: I was too dumb and stupid to realize that I am not allowed to type responses as part of my story anymore! Thanks _Iyakon Sobek_ for telling me that, or else aki-child might be put on reader-black list XD! Anyhow, i will try to reply and thank everyone who reviewed the previous chappie! But omg, the page doesn't feel right without typing out the names and replies! Aw man! Oh wells! Wish you all will love this chapter! EnjoY!**

* * *

**Chapter 7: Always been Afraid**

_When I was young, I was afraid. Even now, I am still afraid. _

_I am afraid of thunder and lightning. _

"Shikamaru!" The girl squealed again of the sudden roar of thunder.

The boy turned away and winced at the pain as her grip around his arm tightened and the digging of her fingernails deepened. _This is so troublesome..._ He looked at her frightening form and smacked himself mentally on the forehead. _This is so my fault..._ He stared at the huge screen in front of him and blinked helplessly. _But it's just a movie..._

"Ino," He called out her name without looking at her, "want some popcorns?"

She opened her eyes and stared at the side of his face, "no thank you," then, she screamed, which meant a harder squeeze applied to his arm. Shikamaru sighed as he chucked the popcorns into his mouth. _There's no doubt about it. _

_I am sure I made a horrible decision and today is going to be a troublesome day for me..._

* * *

"You are a really troublesome woman, Ino," Shikamaru tucked his hands into his pocket and teased, "you were screaming like crazy when it was only thundering in the movie." He had already pulled his sleeves down to cover the scratches she gave him. She loved to blame herself. He looked at her and chuckled, "I wonder what will you do when it is thundering in real life."

"Shut up, Shikamaru!" Ino smacked him on the arm and pushed him away from her, "I am scared of thunder and lightning. I thought you knew that!"

_Troublesome..._ "I didn't know you are this silly, Ino." She pouted and her cheeks puffed up like a little child. He chuckled quietly at the sight and shook his head. _But very cute, at the same time..._

"Shikamaru!" Suddenly, she tucked him on the sleeves. When she knew she had his attention, she blushed, "Want to go to the Ichiraku for lunch?" she placed her hands onto her stomach and stuck her tongue out, embarrassed, "I am hungry and my tummy is growling..."

He stared at her pink cheeks and smiled slightly, "It will be my treat then."

Ino looked at him and grinned brightly, "Let's go then!" But happy times didn't always last for long. With a sudden mist of cloud appearing before the running girl, she bumped right into the smoke and fell onto the ground. Ino groaned at the pain and rubbed the shot of the pain, "it hurts."

"You all right?" Shikamaru squatted beside her while staring at the cloud of smoke. After he gave Ino a helping hand and supported her up, he questioned the _still-smoking _cloud, "Neji, what is it now?"

"Shikamaru," The Hyuuga remained calmly on his feet and announced, "The Hokage is calling for you."

The shadow boy turned away and pushed the order aside, "I am sorry. I am busy right now."

"But Tsunade-sama is really needing you at the moment, Shikamaru," Neji switched his gaze from the boy to the girl beside him. The shinobi raised an eyebrow and stated the fact, "I am sure Yamanaka Ino wouldn't mind you leaving her alone for this afternoon, right?"

Ino looked at Neji then to Shikamaru. She gave him a push on the arm, "Since Hokage-sama is calling for you, you should go with Neji." She smiled weakly, "I will be fine on my own."

Shikamaru then gave her a light pat on the shoulder, "I am sorry, Ino." He dug his hand into his pocket and handed the house key to her, "I promise I will have lunch with you another day."

"Hurry up and go," she held the keys into her palms and smiled, "or else both you and Neji will be in trouble!" With a slight nod with his head, both of the jounins disappeared into a poof of smoke. As soon as they did, the smile faded away from Ino's face. She headed into Ichiraku alone. She sat on one of the stools and smiled at the old man.

"May I please have **one** seafood ramen, please?"

_Come on, Ino...get a smile onto your stupid face! _She tried but the smile didn't last long. Mentally, she sighed. Unconsciously, she stared at the pairs that were eating ramen in Ichiraku. It was not that she was jealous at the couples or anything. It was just that she didn't like to look like a loner. _Maybe I am..._ she sighed again and tried to think happily.

_Think about it, Ino. Shikamaru left because he has an important mission in hand. _

**That's right, a very important mission.**

"How in the heaven is this an important mission, Hokage-sama?" Shikamaru slammed his fist onto the table. Veins popped out of his head and his face was flushed red. _A jounin is assigned to such a stupid mission? This doesn't make sense at all! _

"Shikamaru..." Neji reminded the shadow boy that he was talking to a Hokage, the leader of Konoha, "This is Tsunade-sama you are talking with..."

"So?" Shikamaru turned and faced the Hyuuga, "I doubt that you think this is an important mission too, right?" _This is just so crazy! _Shikamaru sighed deeply to calm himself down.

Neji then bowed at the Hokage, "Please excuse him, Hokage-sama, Shikamaru was just having a really bad day."

"I wasn't having a bad day, Neji!" The shadow boy let the anger took over his manner again, "It was just that-"

"It was just that you missed a date with Yamanaka, right?" Neji finished the sentence for him.

Tsunade sat on the chair and smirked when she heard the news, "If you were busy, Shikamaru. You may leave," she took a sip of the green tea in front of her and smiled, "I am sure having lunch with Ino would be more interesting than playing chess with a bunch of elderly people."

Shikamaru turned away and remained silent.

"But I am sure Ino won't be too happy if she hears that you abandon the mission for her, right?" An evil spark escaped from her staring eyes. Shikamaru stared at Tsunade unwillingly. _I got you, genius! _The woman leaned back onto her seat and asked again, "are you going to accept this mission or not?"

Shikamaru swallowed everything, including his anger, and nodded his head, "I am on it, Tsunade-sama." _Women are so troublesome, especially old women..._

* * *

Ino unlocked the door and stepped into the house. _Empty and quiet. _She threw the keys onto the coffee table as she sat herself onto the comfortable sofa. _Hope that I won't be eating dinner alone, too, tonight. _She stared at the clock. _5:39pm. _She sighed again.

But almost immediately, she shook the unhappy thought away. She was going to prepare dinner for the both of them. She wouldn't want Shikamaru to be hungry after completing a mission, right? Besides, if she didn't start making the meal now, she wouldn't be having dinner at the usual dinnertime.

Grabbing ingredients and other uncooked foods from the fridge, she started chopping the carrots and boiling the water.

**At the same time, it started to rain. **

Under the same rainy and cloudy sky, Shikamaru was playing chess with dozens old people. _This is really troublesome. _"I win again, Hakashi-san," Shikamaru sighed deeply as he claimed his victory against the same opponent he was playing with for the past two hours.

"This is no fair!" The Hakashi old man stood up from the spot and pointed at Shikamaru with his walking stick, "you cheated, my young fellow!"

"No, I didn't," Shikamaru sighed. _And this is like the twenty-fifth time that I am telling him this. _The boy stretched his muscles, "It's just the matter of skill and brain."

"Are you saying I am dumb, my boy?" The old man yelled at him while Shikamaru leaned backward at his words. _Similarly, this is the twenty-fifth time that he is yelling at me with this same question. _The old man was furious when he planted his butt onto the chair again, "this round doesn't count! I want a rematch!"

"Hakashi-san, others want a chance to play too," Shikamaru looked at him helplessly, "you can't be selfish and reserve this seat forever."

"I will not leave this spot until I prove you-" then, the old man noticed that the boy wasn't paying attention anymore, "Are you even listening to-" he noticed at he was giving his full attention to the rain. The man kept his cool and kept an eye on the thinking boy, "forgot to close the window, boy?"

"No, it's just..." Shikamaru turned back to the man and gave him a weak smile, "it feels like that the weather is going to turn bad soon..."

"_I am scared of thunder and lightning," Ino pouted. _

"Worrying about someone?" Hakashi smirked, causing wrinkles to escape from his old face.

Shikamaru looked up at the man and blushed ever so slightly, "It's just that my-" Then, he saw lightning in the corner of his eyes. Quickly, he changed the topic, "How about I will drop by again some other night? I have to go-"

The thunder roared. _Shoot! _The boy looked at the sky above and sighed.

"I will certainly escort you all back to the place first," Shikamaru stood up from the seat and looked at the elders, "Please allow me to-"

"I am not letting you go that easily!" Hakashi stubbornly crossed his arms and closed his eyes, "your mission is not finished here, Shikamaru-kun."

"Hakashi-san, can't you just be a little bit more considerate?" The shadow boy placed his hands onto his hips and tilted his head to the side, "It is raining, it is thundering and it is cold. If you insist to stay here to play, your companions will suffer the cold along with you."

"But you were told to play chess with us, right?" The old man yelled in his _I-am-the-boss-here_ tone at the boy, "I dismiss you from the mission and not you deciding when you are going to be dismissed!"

It rained harder and the thunder roared louder. _This is so troublesome..._ Shikamaru spoke in his serious tone, "Hakashi-san, if you don't-"

"Dinner's ready!" In a distance, a female voice called out. Shikamaru recognized the voice quickly and let out a relieved sigh. Everyone looked in the direction where the voice came from. In the darkness, they saw a pink hair girl running towards the group, "dinner's ready! Why don't all of us have a warm and delicious dinner in the place?"

"Sakura," Shikamaru noted her presence. _Thanks a lot, my friend._

"Come on, let's go." Sakura smiled sweetly as she led one man, or woman, after another. Then, when most of the elders went back into their rooms, Sakura walked to Hakashi, who was still sitting at the same spot as before. The girl patted him on the shoulder, "Hakashi-san, why aren't you going in for dinner? It's getting cold."

"I want to play chess," the old man turned away from Sakura but looked at Shikamaru, "I want to defeat him."

_Old people can sometimes be really really childish and immature, eh? _Shikamaru sighed, tucking his hands into his pocket.

Sakura stared at the stubborn old man and leaned in closer to him. She whispered something in his ear that Shikamaru couldn't hear. When her mouth left the man's ear, she smiled, "You used to be one of these men too, weren't you?" Hakashi looked away and nodded his head dumbly.

He got out of the seat.

"Let's go then," Sakura held onto his arm and led him into the sheltered place. At the same time, the girl looked over her shoulder and gave Shikamaru a tiny wink. _What is going on here? _The boy looked as confused as ever, standing like an idiot and looking at the leaving pair.

But, everything was clear when the old man turned back and looked at the boy, "I am sorry, Shikamaru-kun," he spoke in a apologetic tone as well as a smirk, "I didn't know your girlfriend is waiting for you to go home for dinner."

_A girlfriend? _"Wait, I don't-"

"Come on, Shikamaru." Sakura giggled, "She is waiting."

A pale shades of pink appeared onto his cheeks as he felt his face heated up. _Whatever..._ With that, he turned around and started running towards his house, _where the girl was waiting._

* * *

As if Shikamaru was afraid of getting soaked by the falling rain, he ran like mad with his greatest speed. The ground was slippery and the street was dim. Thanks to his ninja ability, he was about to see in the dark and also run on a wet surface without slipping. Every inch of his muscle was desperately asking him to stop running. He wouldn't listen. He knew that if he stopped, the girl, _Yes, Ino_, would be...

He made a sharp turn as he arrived at his house. He dug into his pocket for the set of keys. _Oh shoot! I gave it to her this afternoon! _So, he decided to knock on the door instead, "Ino, open the door!" His muscles was worked up and tensed. His face was flushed and sweat poured entirely from his forehead. He took a deep breathe, "Ino, open the door!"

_What a dumb kid you are, Shikamaru! Why would she open the door when she is trying to shut the thunder away from her ears! _He cursed under his breath. But he thought of another routine to get into the house. That's right. _The window_. The bathroom window was usually opened.

As expected, it was. He managed to fit his huge body into the small window without breaking the glass or himself. _Troublesome. _He took off his shoes and his wet vest once he got in. Without even turning the lights on, he ran out of the bathroom, "Ino, where are you!"

When he entered the bedroom, he swore that he had whimpering from somewhere, "Ino, are you here?" When he was about to reach for the light switch and light up the room, he tripped on something and fell onto the floor. _Oh my nose! _He rubbed his nose and stared at the object that he tripped on.

_Ino..._

"Ino, are you okay?" He crawled to where he spotted her. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and whispered, "It's okay...It's going to be over soon..."

"Shikamaru..." she balled herself up into his embrace and held onto his arm, "Where have you been? I am so-AH!" the thunder roared again.

"It's okay, Ino," He patted her head and placed a hand onto her back, "I am here now...It's okay..." He extended his arm to the bed, pulling the blanket off the bed. With a quick movement, he covered the blanket over their heads, making the area around them dark.

"Shikamaru?" The girl raised her head up from the nape of his neck and stared at the darkened surrounding and looked at him.

"Now, there's no lightning anymore," he gave her a warm smile.

Ino blushed slightly as his _ever-so-gentle_ tone as she nodded her head with a small smile on, "but the thunder..."

Without letting her finish the whole sentence, he pulled her close into his arm until he felt her head resting on his chest, "A long time ago, there was a little sheep living on the mountain by itself..."

The girl giggled in her mind. _Telling me story to block the growling thunder, eh? _"It has no family or friends, but it manages to-"

She closed her eyes and listened both his story and his beating heart. Their surrounding was so warm partly because they were inside the blanket and secondary, their body heats were radiating through one another.

Unconsciously, her arms found their ways to link together around his waist. She could tell that he was startled by the touch for a split second but he was professional enough to keep telling her the story. Ino smiled as she leaned in closer to him. _It feels so warm and safe with you here..._

She wrapped her arms around him tighter and let out a peaceful sigh, "Shikamaru, I think I..."

_I think I am falling in love with you._

**End of Chapter 7**

**A/N: haha! how is it, eh? lolx. feel too happy and sweet for the both of them! Anyways, hope you all liked this chappie! and I will try to update as soon as possible! Thanks for reading!**


	8. The gap that lies between

**A/N:** Sorry for the late update! It has been a month since I updated! my deep apology! Anyways, hopefully that this chappie will seem a little bit different for all of you. It is meant to be, anyways! Well, please- omg, now my mood went down too after typing this chapter! omg omg...please enjoy? or...please cry?

**Chapter 8: The gap that lies between**

_**I am like a falling star who has finally found a place next to **_

**_a lovely constellation,where we will sparkle in the heavens forever._**

_But forever? I am even unsure about my love for you. How will I be qualified to talk about 'forever' with you in any way?_

That's right. She used to think that her 'love' for a certain Uchiha would last for eternity. But it did't. She realized how stupid and immature she was to think like that. _It was just a childish act, not love. _She pushed herself away from him. _Although it is hard, I have to let go. _She lengthened their distance by sitting up against the wall instead of leaning onto him. _Maybe this time, it's only another childish act too..._ The girl took another glance at the boy. _Maybe everything is just a dream..._

_Why not **give up** before I hurt both myself and him? _

_I am quitting._

* * *

The morning broke and his eyelids cracked opened. Other than greeting the sunlight with his orbs, his eyes greeted something else: an empty bed and an empty spot beside him. _Where did Ino go?_ He pushed the blanket away and rose from the floor that he slept on for the entire night.

Shikamaru stretched his tense muscles and yawned out loud, as usual. _So troublesome. _He bowed down to pick up the blanket from the floor. After patting off the dust, he roughly threw the blanket onto the mattress. Then, he scratched his messy hair. He always hated to wake up in the early morning. Firstly, he had to brush his teeth and change into another set of clothing. Secondly, he had to cook breakfast and go to the Hokage office. Lastly, he had to face another new day.

_But everything changed since you came..._

The boy didn't have to find his toothpaste anymore in the morning _because she got it ready. _He didn't have to dig into the closet for an outfit _because she did that for him. _He didn't have to cook any breakfast _because she was there to cook for him. _Mostly importantly, he didn't have to walk to the Hokage office alone _because she would walk with him and tell him it's just an exercise for her. _

Shikamaru smiled. _Everything doesn't seem too troublesome when you are here. _

However, today seemed different.

The things that were suppose to be there weren't there. There was something that he was sure about. _There is no more Ino pacing around downstairs..._ Without even brushing his teeth or cleaning up his appearance, he ran out of the bedroom and proceeded downstairs. As predicted, no one was there except for a cooked breakfast.

_Now Ino, where did you go? _

Shikamaru quickly grabbed his jacket and got out of his residence. _Just when did I start to care about you this much? _He dropped by at Ichiraku, "Old man, you saw Ino passing by?" A shook of his head, the boy kept on searching. _Just why am I doing this?_

"Asuma!" he caught a smoking man in the corner of his sharp eyes. _Maybe sensei knows where she is._ The boy panted heavily and sweat poured from his forehead, "Asuma, have you seen Ino around?" Shikamaru bent his knees and placed his hands on them just to provide himself some support.

"Ino?" The man took another inhale of the cigarette, "haven't seen her around that much lately," he raised an eyebrow and chuckled, "I thought she is living with you for this month!"

The boy scratched his head lazily and sighed, "and I don't know where she went," _this is so troublesome...but I care about it so much. _"all right, I will ask around for her then," with that, he rushed pass his former sensei and began his searching again.

"Shikamaru,"

The panting boy turned his head and stared at the teacher, "what is it, Asuma?"

The man took the cigarette out of his lips and suggested, "why not going to the academy for a try? She is a young sensei after all," That idea brightened Shikamaru's brain a little. _Oh, that's right! _Then, before he could proceed to the Academy, the adult reminded him something very important. "Shikamaru, the three big taboos for a shinobi are alcohol, money and..." the man searched for his expression, "woman."

"Asuma," The shadow boy tucked his hands into his pocket and flashed him a _I-would-care-less _face, "Just what are you trying to-"

"I can sense that you are going a bit too obsess with Ino lately," the man coughed and stated once again, "and Ino is a woman."

_Just what is he saying? Ino is..._ The shadow boy turned around and squeezed his fists until the knuckles turned white, "Ino is not just a woman," he looked into his sensei's eyes but faced the direction he was suppose to go within a split second. He refused to speak out his heart; he wasn't ready to let everyone know yet...

* * *

_"Tsunade-sama, may I please skip today's teaching at the Academy for personal reason?" Ino politely asked for the Hokage's permission. That personal reason...she didn't know what is it. But she was sure if Shikamaru found out she wasn't in the house, he would come and look for her in the school. That's why-_

_"Ino, you are dismiss," Tsunade crossed her arms and leaned onto her chair, "It's not that I don't care about that personal reason of yours but I am sure you are mature enough to know what is right and what is wrong for you to do." The old woman smiled and continued on with her next paper assignment. _

_"Thank you, Tsunade-sama," The girl bowed politely at her before exiting the room. _

Ino jumped from roof to roof, towards the direction of the Nara residence. It was not like that she wanted to jump instead of walking. It was because she didn't have the key to his house. _The door should be locked, but..._ Then, she let out a small smile. _I am sure Shikamaru is clumsy enough to leave the windows opened. _

She stopped moving as she reached the nearest tree to the window of his house. _As expected. _Carefully and slowly, she pulled opened the window and sucessfully got into without breaking the glass and ripping the curtain. She landed onto the bed with her feet and noticed how messy the room was without her being there for only one morning.

Without getting the reason she came here for done, Ino made the bed and tidied the tossed clothes. _I can't imagine how his life would be..._ Her lips curved downwards as she wondered_...without me. _She shook her head mentally and took a deep inhale, "there's no turning back now, Ino." When she was done making the room clean, the girl went to the closet and opened it, just to grab all her clothes and belongings back to her home.

She neatly folded her shirts and pants into the luggage. Grabbing her towel, her toothbrush, comb, doll and other important things, she slammed the luggage closed and locked it up. _I guess this is goodbye. _She stood up from the floor with the heavy luggage in her hands. She took one last look at the Nara residence and took one last sniffle at the smell of his room. Then, she left.

Completely.

* * *

"Hokage-sama!" Shizune yelled behind the closed door.

"What is it, Shizune!" Tsunade took notice of the medic's voice and raised to her head to look at the wooden door. Surprising, Shizune wasn't the person who rushed into the room. It was Shikamaru. _Oh. _The woman sat back and pretended to look calm, "Just when did Shikamaru turn into an impatient kid with no matter?"

"Tsunade-sama!" Shizune stood by the door and called out the woman. With a wave of Tsunade's hand, the lady was dismissed.

When the door was closed again, the Hokage looked at Shikamaru's flushing face and questioned the jounin, "Is there an important reason that you came here for me?" Then, she stared at his way of dressing, "and I can see that you are in a rush because you are not wearing what a ninja should be wearing."

Shikamaru slammed his fists onto the table and leaned closer to her. _But not too close. _He spoke between his heavy breathing, "I couldn't find her in the Academy," he wiped the sweat away from the back of his hand, "I couldn't find her at my house," the boy gulped, still breathing heavily, "do you know where she is?"

Tsunade smirked as she leaned back onto the chair, "who is the her you are talking about?"

He knew that she knew. Shikamaru looked away but looked back at the woman after a few seconds, "Yamanaka Ino."

"Ah-" The woman smirked again. She wasn't sure if he was blushing or not when he spoke her name. After all, his face was already flushed when he rushed into the office. How could she tell? "I dismissed her from working today because she had to leave the school for personal reason,"

"What personal reason?"

"She didn't tell."

Shikamaru slowly gained his normal pace of breathing and there weren't that much sweat matted on his forehead anymore, "then, did she go back to her house? Did she tell you?" The Hokage shook her head. The jounin nodded his head dumbly and whispered, "all right." With that, he turned around and walked for the door.

"Shikamaru, I don't think you should be behaving in the way that you are now," the woman tapped her fingers onto the table and smirked, "and I think you are smart enough to know what I am talking about."

The boy looked over his shoulder and replied seriously, "and I think you are clever enough to understand too, Hokage-sama," he turned around and stared at the woman, "Ino is not only a woman to me," he spoke out the words without blushing and without thinking another way of expressing his feeling, "she is a woman whom I **_love_**."

Tsunade smiled, "I wasn't expecting you to tell me that but," she stood up and looked at the window at the Konoha village, "follow what your heart speaks." Then, he smiled too. _Looks like Shikamaru has finally become what he should... _After one or two seconds, she heard the door closed quiety and followed by a polite knock.

"Tsunade-sama," Shizune waited by the door with a pile of paper in her arms. The woman turned to look at the medic and nodded her head to signal her to continue, "there is another mission."

* * *

**It was raining outside. **

Ino unpacked her things from the luggage and neatly put them back into places. Her house seemed distance and cold for a second. But of course, she had been spending time living in Shikamaru's house for weeks and left her house occupied. Besides, she didn't close the windows yet. _Clumsy me. _She smiled slightly as she closed those opened windows.

She noticed how the rain soaked a section of her bedsheets. _Troublesome rain. _She removed the soaked sheet with a dry one. Suddenly, a fear struck her mind, which made her mind raced. _Did I close Shikamaru's windows? _Ino smacked her head to recall the time when she sneaked into his room. _Shoot! I don't think I did!_

Ino grabbed her raincoat and ran downstairs quickly. She was going to close those windows again. She slid onto her boots by the door and stood up when she was done. She held the freezing doorknob and swung the door opened. What was in front of her was him.

_Shikamaru..._

She wanted to shut the door but she failed to complete her mission. Before the door completely closed, his hand was already holding the door in place. "Ino, there is something-"

"Go away, Shikamaru!" Ino pushed onto the door, applying more forces onto it, hoping that it would closed, "I don't want to listen to anything that you are going to say or do! Get out of my house!" _Because I don't want to fall for you again..._

"Ino, please just let me-"

"Shikamaru!" She interrtuped him again, "Just why! Why do you have to keep coming back? Why?" She could feel tears swelling up against her eyeballs, and soon those tears would be scrolling down. _Why do you and your face have to taunt my dreams! _"Shikamaru, please-" The girl leaned her forehead against the door and cried out.

Shikamaru took the chance to grab her hand to pull her to his direction, "Ino, please-" he was stunned and speechless when he saw tiny tear drops fell from her eyes. _Why are you crying? I thought you are strong. _The boy held her shoulders and whispered, "please don't cry."

"Then, please leave me alone."

The shadow boy sighed in frustration and still held onto her arms, "I am not going to let you go!" She tried to struggle but unable to within his strong arms. Shikamaru shook her shoulders and yelled out, "I am not going to lost you and I don't want to!" _I want you to be here with me..._

"The problem is I am not going to stay with you forever!" Ino yelled at him, filling her eyes with tears, "I am not special and I don't want to be anyone-"

_Just what happened? I thought we were..._ Shikamaru held onto her arm tighter, giving her a pain red mark, "You are not going anywhere..." _Can't we just be the way we used to be? _He swallowed the anger and frustration and fulled Ino as he walked away, "I am taking you with me!"

"Shikamaru!" Ino stood at her spot, which only frustrated the boy greater.

He turned back to look at the girl and yelled, "Just what-" **Bad decision**.

A hard and quick slap went across the side of his cheek. That slap, that heart-breaking slap, had cleaned his mind. He shutted his mouth and whispered softly as he released her from his grip, "is it all we can be?" he looked at her bowed head, "is this all we can do?" he withdrawn his hands to his side and asked once more, "is it where everything ends?"

Ino looked at him and took a deep breathe, "Yes," With that, she closed the door slowly, leaving the boy standing under the rain

**alone.**

* * *

**End of Chapter 8**

**A/N: **A sappy chappie...omg omg. i hate this i hate this! and this chappie seems incomplete in a way too! but hopefully that you are loving it! hahahahaha XD! hopefully there won't be another writer's block till the next update! thank you for everyone's patiences!


	9. That painful scene

**A/N:** I am very, very, very and _VERY_ sorry about this late update. I didn't have that much of an inspiration for the chapter. sorry, everyone! This chappie is going to be another one of those horrible and sappy ones! but bear with me until those sad inspiration gets out of my head! and hey! im sure this chapter will anger some fans here! i mean i almost kill myself for thinking of a plot like this one too! but it's okay as long as you guys don't flame and started phoning the police my ugly idea.

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Chapter 9: That painful scene

_That pain still lingers on my hand. _Ino looked at her right palm and the red mark still on there, barely fading. She squeezed her hand into a ball. It was probably just a normal reaction that a girl would do when a guy forced her to do something. Or maybe that slap wasn't even supposed to happen. _At least not on his cheek. _But she couldn't help it. She wanted to keep her cool, her dignity. _But what about his dignity?_ How would others think when they saw a red mark on his cheek?

More importantly, _how would he feel? _

Sad. This is probably the only word that could describe his feeling when- _Why is this my business anyways? _Ino shook the thought away and stared at her messy pile of clothes before her. She rolled up her sleeves and started putting them back into the closet one after another. That was the only way that could keep her hands and mind occupied. _I will just keep working until everything fades away..._

But, it didn't work. She found herself fighting the urge to look out the windows and spot the boy, who was possibly still standing outside under the rain. _An umbrella wouldn't hurt..._ Ino massaged her temples and thought of numerous of excuses of herself to see him again. She was missing him already.

She knew if she went out to see him again, she would cry again, she would hug him and she would go back home with him. That's why- _I am not letting that happen. _Ino continued unpacking her belongings from the luggage. Those clothes didn't seem to be hers anymore. _His smell. _Her clothes were mixed with both his and her scents. After all, they did share the same closet for those weeks. _Those wonderful memories..._

Even when he wasn't there, tears fell again. She forgot to count the numbers of those tears falling. Then, out of nowhere when she was folding her clothes. The Konoha forehead protector fell out and hit the floor with a tiny thud. Ino stared at the protector, the same one she got from the day she passed the academy exam, and curved her lips downwards. She picked it up slowly and recalled what Iruka-sensei once told all of them.

The girl held onto the protector tighter but forced out a weak smile, "I will just do it for the sake of Konoha." _He is a comrade, after all! _

Ino grabbed an umbrella from the drawer and held it into her hand when she proceeded near the closed windows to look at the standing young man. As soon as she saw him though, the object fell from her hands until it struck the floor, creating a little sound. _Someone else is with him. _She leaned against the window, placing her fingers onto the cold glass. She eyed the outside for a little bit longer.

A person with a purple umbrella walked near him and told him a few words before the two of them walked away from the door. Ino swallowed the anger and jealousy that she was feeling. _Temari. _Then, she slammed her fists against the glass.

- - -

This bed, _my bed_, didn't seem like hers anymore. Ino opened her eyes, gripping onto the bed sheet. The smell didn't seem to be familiar anymore. She had already got used to his smell, his warmth, his presence and even his snoring. Ino ran a hand through her hair and sighed deeply. _There's no point regretting now. I am already too late for that. _She rolled over to the other side of the bed and held onto one of her stuffed dolls. She buried her face into the bear's furry stomach. By doing so, she remembered Shikamaru's pair of protective arms wrapping around her when there was the roaring thunder.

"Oh my god," Ino lied onto the bed on her back. Moving her hands to massage her temples, she sighed again, "just when are all these memories going to faint?" _Oh never-mind. _She got up from her soft mattress and walked slowly toward the closet. Grabbing out a set of neat and tidy clothes, she disappeared into the washroom to prepare herself to face her brand new day. Splashing her face with cold running water before leaving the house, she managed to stop her thought on him. Just for a little while though...

"Sensei!" Ino heard a familiar voice from behind when she locked the door. She looked over her shoulder and smiled when she figured out who that was.

She squatted down and smiled at the little boy, "Tsubashi, you seem that you are enjoying the morning already."

The little boy blushed as he held Ino's fingers into his tiny hand, "I have a confession to make, sensei," Ino tilted her head a little and smiled. The boy blushed again as he grabbed something from his tiny backpack, "You are very pretty, sensei. Can you be my girlfriend, please?"

Ino looked at the thing he handed to her. It was a hand-drawn card. The colourful little card made her giggled, "This is a beautiful card, Tsubashi. It looks like you've improved on your drawing and creativity skill." Then, the girl held the paper into her free hand and tucked it into her folder, "thank you very much. I love it."

"That is what my mamee told me too," the boy grinned innocently, "and you taught me all these skills. That is why I want to be with sensei forever."

"Of course, sensei will stay by your side whenever you are in danger, Tsubashi," she placed a hand onto his brown hair, "but sensei isn't someone that can become your girlfriend. A girlfriend should be more than just someone who teaches you things."

"But, you are pretty."

"And beauty isn't something that you should look for in a girl," she smiled kindly at the boy. Then, she stood up from her spot. The boy raised his head to look at her as he tucked his hand onto her sleeves. Ino patted his head gently, "now don't you think we should be heading to school now?"

Tsubashi pouted and stared at the ground. Suddenly, his facial expression changed into a happy and hopeful look, "I know what sensei wants!" He untangled himself with her sleeves and grinned, "you want flowers, right? That's why what the men always bring to girls when they are confessing!"

"Tsubashi!"

"It's okay, sensei! I will pick some flowers from the park over there!" With that, he started to run for the park, "wait here, sensei!"

"Tsubashi," she tried to reach a hand to grab him, but the child was running too fast. Ino sighed and remained at her spot, waiting for her little student to come back with a dozen of flowers in his arms. How the boy ran and smiled reminded her a lot about her childhood. She was to be that innocent and that happy too. But as time went on, there were more troubles that she had to deal with and go through. Sometimes, she even had to solve the problem by herself.

"Looks like you've gained some love from the child, Ino," there was a voice behind her.

She turned around and looked at the person. When she did, she smiled, "Good morning, Hokaga-sama."

The older lady nodded with a smile. Then, before Ino turned her head back to the direction for her student, the Hokage asked her a disturbing question, "did something, by chance, happen between you and Shikamaru, Ino?" Ino stiffened and remained silent. The woman rubbed the back of her neck and explained, "I am not trying to step a foot into you two's relationship or something. To tell you the truth, I am just curious and interested..."

Ino moved her head a bit when she felt the woman whispering into her ear, "how did Shikamaru get his face slapped last night?"

"Hokage-sama!" Ino tightened her fists and blushed. She opened her mouth and soon closed it again, turning around, "it was nothing. It was just an accident."

"An accident!" Tsunade narrowed her eyes at the girl sheepishly, "are you sure it wasn't because he did something that-"

"Tsunade-sama!"

"All right, all right," The woman ran a finger through her light brown hair, "I wouldn't force you to tell me something you don't want to." Then, with a second, the adult looked at Ino seriously, "But Ino, I do have something to tell you. Shikamaru was sent out to a mission last night with the rest of his comrades. He will be back by tomorrow's night if the mission goes smooth."

Ino looked onto the ground and asked bitterly, "Why am I suppose to know this?"

"Just want to inform you if you start worrying about the guy," A smile appeared on her face.

"Tsunade-sama, how many times do I-" just when Ino was about to explain to the Hokage about their relationship, there was a voice that interrupted the women's conversation.

"Ino-sensei, here you go!" It was Tsubashi. Ino knelt down before him and smiled at the beauty of the fresh flowers. The boy blushed, "Can you hold your hand now that I give you flowers, sensei?"

Ino giggled at the child's cuteness and patted her hand onto his head, still giggling, "silly Tsubashi."

- - -

In the night when Shikamaru was suppose to return from his mission, Ino took a walk around the busy street. Obviously, she was doing it on purpose, making herself an excuse to accidentally bumping into the boy's on the road. The night was crowded and full of people, especially couples. It seemed that she was the only one who was alone that night.

"Ino!"

She turned around and saw her former teammate. She managed to give him a weak smile, "Chouji, what are you doing here?" She looked at her _still-chubby _friend. He hadn't changed at all over the years except that he got taller and looked more mature than before. He, as usual, was holding a bag of chip, an extra large bag of chip, in his bandaged hands. Chouji always had a smile on even when he was unhappy or worried. Sometimes, she considered that as a good thing.

"I just treated myself a huge turkey dinner at the restaurant!" Chouji grinned, satisfied, "but I still can't get my hands off of these chips." With that, he threw another piece of tomato chip into his mouth. Ino giggled at his action. _Oh Chouji. _Then, the boy asked out of concern, "but really Ino, what are you doing out tonight? It's really dangerous for a girl to walk by herself in an area like this."

He was right. It was really dangerous. There were few pubs built by the side of the street and the streets were filled with drunken men. "Well, I just want to take a walk after dinner too." She lied. She wasn't going to tell Chouji that she was hoping to see Shikamaru around. She was just not ready to tell him anything about her feeling yet.

"Well, maybe I should either accompany you or escort you by now," Chouji grinned again at his friend as he raised his elbow near her arm, "may I?"

Ino stared at the arm for a while and smiled, "of course," she linked her arm around his but smirked, "but you have to share your chips with me along the way."

He nodded as if he had no problem about offering her chips. Of course, Chouji would have packed another hundreds of chips in his pack. The two friends talked about their lives as they walked along the dim street. They talked about almost everything, except for someone that Ino's most sensitive about at the moment, Shikamaru. When she thought he wasn't going to mention about him, he did.

"Ino, I heard you are living in Shikamaru's house when your parents go to a business trip, right?" Ino nodded her head but didn't speak any word, hoping that Chouji would understand her. But in reality, he never understood her. Shikamaru was the only one. "I bet you are having a hard time, taking care of a lazy genius like him."

"Yeah..." she whispered and smiled.

"So, tell me about you two! I am sure he has been causing you trouble!" Chouji laughed and looked at Ino.

The girl sighed in defeat. There was no choice but answering his question. Ino looked at the concrete and began, "well, we share our workload usually. Sometimes, I will be doing the laundry and he will be cooking the breakfast..." _Whatever, I am like the one who does everything for him. _She continued, "on special occasion though, I would-"

"Ino," she felt him tucking her on the arm. Ino looked at him and gave him a question mark. Chouji gave her a serious look and pointed in the darkness in front of them. Ino slowly changed her attention from Chouji's shocked face to where he was pointing.

Then, when she did, she dropped the chip, she was holding, onto the ground. Before her eyes was the most unbelievable scene she had never expected to see.

Both Shikamaru and Temari were standing outside of a building, which appeared to be a pub, **_kissing_**.

* * *

**End of Chapter 8**

**A/N:** well well, hopefully I can get my brain thinking about the next chappie now that i dun have anymore final exams! haha. anyways, thank you for reading and thank you for holding your anger!


	10. Broken

**A/N:** thank you everyone for review the previous chapter! Guess it flamed a lot of people of adding that gross picture into people's mind, eh? Anyways, hopefully this chapter won't be as depressing as the last one. Please enjoy!

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Chapter 10: Broken

_What is this?_ The potato chip fell onto the concrete floor, shattered into pieces. Ino bit her lower lips and turned away. She couldn't bear to watch. At this moment, she finally understood how wrong she was to think that he loved her in the same way she was. She always thought their friendship could develop into something better, more wonderful. She thought they could love. _I was stupid to think this way. _She didn't realize how much the tears had swelled up in her eyes until a drop of sad tear fell from her blinking eyes.

"Ino?" Chouji tilted his head a little to meet with her face. She was crying. The fat boy placed his gentle hand on her shoulder, trying to make her look at him. But his touch didn't work at all. He felt helpless. Just like most of the guys, he hated to see girls crying too. He started to think the possibilities that made Ino cried. _She never cried. _"Ino, what's wrong?"

"It's nothing," she wiped the tears away with the back of her hand, "it's nothing." she repeated the words, shaking her head. She was acting, pretending to be strong. However, the falling tears betrayed her. No matter how much time she wiped the tears away or held the tears from falling, it didn't help. Tears weren't just something that could stop within a second.

"Ino..."

"Let's go, Chouji," Ino grabbed his hand and turned around, exiting from the heartbreaking scene. Maybe she wasn't meant to be there at all; maybe she wasn't meant to take a walk; maybe she wasn't meant to miss him or anything after her departure.

Maybe she wasn't meant to love him **_at all_**.

However, the fat boy decided not to follow her but to ask her a simple question, "You like Shikamaru, don't you?" He stood there, looking at Ino seriously. At the same time, he realized how she released his hand from hers and bowed down her head. _So you do. _

"I- I don't know what you- you are talking about," Ino, still standing at the spot with her back facing the boy, lied, "Shikamaru and I- he and I- are just friends, Chouji." She turned around with a weak smile hanging on her pale face. That fake smile was soon replaced by a frown. "We are..."

"...in love." Chouji finished her sentence for her, assuming that was what she wanted to tell him.

Ino stared at the concrete floor with the corner of her blue eyes, "Chouji, we are not," she choked on her tears, "we are not in love," she wiped the tears away again and tucked her blonde hair behind her ear. The girl sobbed quietly and added, "It's just me. I am the one who wants love, not him." Tears streamed down her cheeks as her nose and eyes became redder than before, "It's just about me."

Instead of leading the crying girl a handkerchief or tissue, Chouji quietly spoke, "leave this to me, Ino." With that, the fat boy walked towards the direction where Shikamaru and the woman were standing. _Leave this job to me, Ino. I am going to... _He squeezed his hands into fists after throwing the bag of chips onto the floor.

- - -

**_Here's all you have to know about men and women: women are crazy, men are stupid.  
And the main reason women are crazy is that men are stupid._**

_Women are crazy and troublesome beasts. _Shikamaru froze at his spot and kept his eyes opened when her lips touched his. _Men are stupid and idiotic creatures. _He was surprised. He didn't blush, didn't react and didn't even move an inch when she kissed him. He just stood there, hoping that she would end this one-sided kiss soon, hoping that she would understand something that he never told her about. _I never liked you, Temari. _

The woman, on the other hand, didn't care about his reaction at all. She wanted to kiss him; she longed to touch his lips. She placed her hands onto his cheeks, allowing her emotion to take control. He couldn't blame her; she was half drunk after all. His lips were soft and sweet. It was all wonderful except that there was something missing, love. _Shikamaru, why? _Temari leaned herself onto his form and pressed her lips onto his deeper. Still, he wasn't responding. He was just standing there as if he wasn't involved at all. She pushed away and stared at him, looking hurt, "why?"

"I don't think this is the right thing to do," Shikamaru stood there, showing no emotion, and looked at her gently, "I am-"

"Shut up! I am asking you a question here!" She yelled at him, "why can't you just like me?"

Shikamaru blinked twice before turning away, avoiding to look into her watery green eyes. He chose to stare at the noisy street instead, "Shinobi should never show their emotions to anyone because when they do, those feelings might become a threat to-"

"Lies!" Tears swelled up in the woman's eyes, "Not even you can follow this rule! Why are you giving me a lecture now?" Shikamaru sighed deeply and raised his head to stare at the starry night. Temari fell into silence for few minutes before she wiped her falling tears away, "Why? What is that something that I am missing? Why can't you like me when you can put your heart and soul into that blonde hair girl?" she placed a hand onto his cheek and made him look at him, "I am an average looking woman. I am strong and independent. I thought I am the kind of girl you would like, not her!"

Shikamaru allowed his face to wander onto the concrete floor, "You don't know what you are talking about," he bit his lower lip and suggested, "why don't you get a good night sleep and we can discuss this matter tomorrow when you are feeling better and more conscious?"

"I am conscious! I am not drunk, Shikamaru!" The woman yelled at him and tears started to form again, "You know that I like you. You know that I love you." Shikamaru remained silence. "You know I do," then, Temari took this chance to lean in closer to him once again. When she was about to kiss him again, he spoke gently.

"If you think kissing me can make you feel better, I don't mind." Shikamaru tucked his hands into his pocket and added, "but I have to tell you this. No matter how many time you kiss me, you confess to me, you show that you love me, I won't change my feeling towards you." He noticed that the woman stopped her every action, "I can't feel anything from your kiss. I don't know what love is supposed to feel like. I don't know how to pretend that I love you. Your kiss, your tear mean nothing to me."

"Why can't you just-" she spoke in a shaky voice, "can't you just pretend that I am her for one second?"

"I can't and I won't," Shikamaru answered softly, "You can't become her and she can never become you, Temari." He held her arms, steadying her from her shaking form, "I am sure there are a lot of men who are more wonderful than me out there in Konoha or in the Wind country. Maybe-

"Don't touch me!" She slapped his hands away and took few steps backwards, "You don't understand me. You just don't-" Then, she ran away with tears in her eyes. Shikamaru thought about running after her, but decided that wouldn't be the best choice to do at the moment. He sighed and zipped up his jacket. When he raised his head to look into the crowd, he saw Chouji walking toward him with an angry face masking his gentle self.

- - -

"You bastard!" Chouji yelled angrily as he threw his fist onto the face of someone whom he once considered as best friend, best buddy and best comrade. Shikamaru crookedly stumbled few steps backward, hitting his back onto the wall behind him.

"Chouji, what are you-" Shikamaru winced at the impact as he eyes his friend.

"Shut up!" Chouji punched him hard on the face before the poor boy could ask a question.

"What the heck is wrong with you, Chouji?" Shikamaru pushed Chouji away from him and wiped the blood off with the back of his hand. Before Chouji could give him another direct punch, Shikamaru dodged the coming attack, which resulted in his fist hitting into the brick wall. His knuckles started to bleed. Shikamaru stared at the friend's hand and asked, "Are you all right?"

Instead of accepting his caring words, Chouji took the chance and grabbed Shikamaru by the collar, "This question should be from me to you! Are you out of your mind, Shikamaru!" He held him against the wall and asked another similar question, louder this time, "Did you go insane after the mission? I thought-"

"Chouji-"

Then, he punched him hard again, "Why the heck are you kissing Temari, Shikamaru? Why!"

Shikamaru grabbed Chouji on the arms and pushed him away again. The impact caused both of them to fall onto the ground, "I had no choice! It wasn't my fault that we-"

"No choice?" Chouji got up and started punching the shadow boy again, "What do you mean by no choice, Shikamaru?" He rushed to him and held the collar of his jacket again, bringing Shikamaru up from the cold concrete floor. "What do you mean by it wasn't your fault that-"

"Punch me all your want, Chouji," Shikamaru spoke in a serious tone and stared at the fatter boy, "I have nothing to explain to you if you are becoming so troublesome."

"Bastard!" When he was about to fulfill what Shikamaru said, a voice behind them stopped his movement.

"Stop it, Chouji!" Ino stood behind the fighting men with tears in her eyes. The boys looked into her direction, shocked that she was standing there and looking at the all scene. She took a step forward and demanded in a shaky voice, "please stop fighting."

Chouji jerked his hand away from the bleeding boy and stood up. Shikamaru pushed himself up to a sitting position and raised his head to look at the girl. _She is crying...but she never does. _He sat on the floor, feeling helpless and confused for the first time. _Why is she crying? _

"Don't let me see you again, Shikamaru," Before Chouji walked away, to Ino, he spoke this bitter demand.

- - -

Shikamaru took off his jacket, throwing it onto the unoccupied sofa. His house didn't feel the same anymore. Every night, there was always this bossy girl rushing downstairs and staring at him whenever he got home late and yelled at him for not managing his time well. _I miss you. _He stumbled upstairs and opened the door to his own bedroom. He fell onto the soft mattress and sighed deeply. _I really do. _Suddenly, he winced at the pain.

_Troublesome._

He went into the bathroom, wiping off marks of dried blood from the corner from his lips. _Why the heck did Chouji start beating me up? _As his finger traced to a huge purple bruise, he grunted out in pain. He couldn't even recall how that happened, how Temari and he ended up in a kiss.All he remember was that his comrades and him completed the mission successfully and were all going to celebrate their success in the nearby pub. Since all of them were older than he was, he didn't object. He would just have to bear with the smell of alcohol. _That's all. _

_**flashback**_

"Cheers!" All of them said the word out loud together, clashing their drinks with each other's.

"Come on, Shikamaru," one of the man who was about the same age as Iruka chuckled, "it wouldn't hurt if you drink a sip or two out of the beer,"

The shadow boy shook his head with a weak smile on, "Don't want to get my lips onto any alcohol until I am legal to do so," He held his glass of orange juice and shrugged, "don't want the Hokaga to find an excuse to fire me from my position, do I?"

"You are thinking a bit too much there, Shikamaru," the other man spoke as he allowed the liquid to reach his throat. He let out a painful look but sighed with joy afterwards. He grinned at the boy, "but maybe this is how you become a jounin, having a smart brain and all."

Shikamaru curved up a weak smile again. He wasn't really in the mood of making jokes or listening to jokes. He never was that type of a person. Then, for almost an hour and a little bit more, all of them were drinking and talking about some stuffs that Shikamaru didn't pay too much attention to. He kept his mouth shut from any conversation. He just thought it wasn't appropriate for him to interrupt or add his words into any adult talk. _Never. _He kept on drinking his juice and refilling it for the whole hour until someone finally fainted onto the table.

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow and moved few inches away from the person who banged her head onto the table, Temari. He looked at his other comrades who were still talking and drinking. It was like as if they didn't notice that the woman passed out or something. He cleared his throat and spoke, " I will take her home first." He threw one of her arms over his shoulder. Realizing that other jounins didn't notice what he said, he sighed and got up from his seat, pulling Temari along with him.

It was chilly when the wind blew onto his face. He thought that the woman might get a cold in the cold evening too. Therefore, he decided to take off his jacket for her. When he did, he steadied her against the wall with his arm holding one of her shoulders. As he unzipped his jacket, he felt an arm wrapped around his waist. _What the heck? _He looked over to his shoulder and noticed how Temari leaned her head onto his back. _Troublesome..._

He turned around to hold her arms, hoping to get her away from him. He hated intimacy, especially with a woman. When he almost got her completely off of him, he found himself being pinned against the wall by the strong woman. He had to admit. Even though he was the man between both of them, he had a hard time overpowering her strength. _She is just strong and harsh. _"Uh, Temari, do you mind?"

She shook her head, " I don't."

Shikamaru turned to his side and sighed mentally. A sweat fell from his forehead, "but I do."

"Don't you get it?" Temari raised her head to look at him with her green eyes. She touched his cheek ever so gently and gave him a smile, "I have always wished to have you hold me in your arms in a dark cool evening," she leaned onto his chest and listened to his heartbeat, "it feels so nice."

Almost immediately, Shikamaru withdrawn his hands from her shoulders and threw them to his side. _Did she just confess to me? _Shikamaru's mind went all confused and scared. That was his first time having someone to confess her love to him in these seventeen years. "Temari, you are talking to the wrong guy here. You shouldn't-"

"Shikamaru," The boy gulped nervously and managed to reply her with a 'yes' in a shaky voice. "I love you." It was then when Shikamaru swore under his breath. He was sure that Temari heard that bitter swear word coming out from his mouth. But she didn't care.

Shikamaru's head was swirling around and around, hoping to dig out a clear way to face this situation. Then, he was suddenly startled when her arms were finding their way to wrap around his neck. Before he could do anything with that, her lips already crushed onto his.

It was then when he started to regain calm. When she kissed him, he swore that he saw a certain girl's smiling face in his head. _Ino. _He stood there, wondering how nice it would be if Ino were the one who was kissing him and confessing to him. But, dreams didn't always come true. In the corner of his wandering eyes, he saw a pair of familiar couple standing few meters away from him. When he was about to focus his eyes towards the two people, the couple already turned around. _Troublesome. _

Then, her lips left his and followed by a question, "Why?"

_**end of flashback**_

Splashing cold water onto his face, Shikamaru cleared his mind out of all those troublesome moments. At the same time, he finally realized the reason the girl cried and his best friend punched him. He shut down the running water and swore under his breath, "they saw us kissing..." then, he swore again, smacking himself hard on the forehead, "and worse, Ino saw that too."

* * *

**End of Chapter 10**

**A/N:** this chappie isn't that exciting, was it! It didn't quite follow what I thought I was going to write either. But hey! At least everything is clear up now, at least to the non-related people in the scene. Haha! Hopefully the next chapter will be here soon! _Thank you_! and oh! thank you for everyone who bear and ignored all the spelling and grammar mistakes i got in this chappie, once again. haha, im not much of a grammar nerd.


	11. Midnight Dances

**A/N:** I guess the first thing I have to say here is an apology! Sorry to keep you guys waiting! Too much things happened lately and i couldn't force myself i write this chappie! this chapter is mostly Shikamaru and Ino fluff! Hope you'll like it! Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 11: Midnight Dances

Shikamaru wandered alone on the empty street right after he figured out what went wrong. _Troublesome._ He massaged his temples, hoping the exhaustion would disappear until he explained to the girl the actual scenario. He couldn't just let her think the wrong way for the whole night. He was going to tell her the truth. The truth that he loved her and only her. But this thought struck him hard in the heart. _What if she doesn't love me the same way I do? _The boy tucked his hands deep into his pockets and sighed. _What if she doesn't even let me see her?_

The shadow boy shook his head dumbly, cursing himself for assuming the worst. He finally reached her home. The lights were all turned off. The darkness made the boy wondered where Ino went to in this hour of a night. Shikamaru jumped onto the tree branch, which was directly in front of the window of the girl's room. Her window was opened but the thin curtain was closed. Carefully and quietly, he landed onto her windowsill. He pushed the curtain aside and peeked into her room.

The girl was tucked inside the blanket with her back facing him. Shikamaru let out a relieved sigh, knowing that she was in the house instead of somewhere else. He let the wind blew on him until he finally made up his mind and stepped into her bedroom silently. It had been years since he came into her bedroom again. Yet, everything was almost the same. The picture frames were placed on her clean desk and there were stuffed dolls set on top of each shelves.

Shikamaru allowed his eyes to adjust to the darkness before he walked to the side of the bed. Ino's fists were gripping tightly onto the pillow and her blonde hair covered half of her face. As well, he noticed how the tissue papers were scattered onto the floor. _Ino, were you- _his heart ached for a moment when he thought about her crying in her sleep and having no one to comfort her when she did.

He squatted down next to the bed and stared at her. The moonlight shone onto her peaceful form. _Ino. _He raised a finger to her level, running it through her hair and brushing away the trands that fell onto her face. It was then when he noticed the tearmarks on her face and her eyes that were looking at him.

- - - - -

_"I am going to be all right,"_ that was what she said to Chouji before the fat boy left the house. Seriously, she thought she was going to be fine by herself. She thought that painful scene would leave her head. It didn't. Then, she thought that taking a warm shower and brushing her hair with her favorite shampoo would cure her. It didn't. At this moment, all she could do was forcing herself to sleep with both anger and jealousy mixed in her emotions.

Ino buried her face deep into the soft pillows. Her legs were tangled with the blanket, making her warm and comfortable. She hated it when she was defeated completely by love; she hated it when she was crying over for love. She kept her eyes opened and stared into the darkness. The memory taunted her, pained her. She sighed out. She didn't want to sob out. That made her weak and girly. But no matter how strong she wanted to act, tears were starting to form in the corner of her blue eyes.

"Stop crying, Ino," she wiped the tears away and mumbled to herself. Taking a deep breath and squeezing the fabric of her pillow, she managed to stop herself from crying. The room was filled with complete silent after a moment. She loved that kind of envoirment. Surprisingly, the silence made her felt protected and secured. However, suddenly, out of nowhere, she heard a quiet thud.

_Maybe it was just a cat. _Ino convinced herself to feel that way even when she felt that Shikamaru, the person who hurt her, was nearby. She started to grow more uncomfortable each minute. She felt like someone was standing very close to her and looking at her 'sleeping' face. Ino bit her lower lips and took another chunk of cold air into her lungs. Slowly, she opened her watery eyes and noticed Shikamaru was in front of her, brushing her hair away from her face.

- - - - -

There was an awkward silence between the two teenagers, either of them blinked or talked. It was Shikamaru was broke the moment by withdrawning his hand from her face. Ino, as well, turned away from him and pushed herself up into a sitting position. The girl moved the blanket away from her legs and stepped onto the cold floor.

She stood directly in front of him, not even aware how close their bodies stood, "what are you doing here?"

Shikamaru took few steps backward, avoiding intimacy between them, "there is something I want to tell you," he looked at her, bowing down his head, "Ino, there is something I want to clear up and explain about what just happened, what you just saw."

"I don't think there's anything you can say," Ino stared at him, flashing him her watery, yet angry, eyes, "I saw everything. You think I am stupid enough to believe what you say and not my own eyes?"

He reached out for her shaky hand, "Ino, please let me explain. It is not what you-"

The girl slapped his hand away from hers and yelled out, "Don't tell me she forced you into that situation!" she turned away, fighting hard to hold back her tears. _There's no way that I am showing that I am weak. _"You may be a genius. But I am not that stupid, Shikamaru! Guys are just-"

"Please, give me at least a chance to explain myself, to make you-" The girl walked past him, storming for the closed door.

"Get the heck out of my room!" Ino held onto the doorknob tightly as she swung the door opened, "get out of my house!"

Shikamaru rushed toward the door, slamming it shut, causing a loud, painful thud, "Why do you always have to be so troublesome and never listen what I have to say?" he grabbed her tiny wrist into his big palm, pushing her to the wall behind her, "why do you always have to think yourself is right and others aren't!"

Ino struggled under his grip and tears uncontrollably burst out, "Of course I am troublesome compare to her! Of course you will look at me as a troublesome, annyoing, girly, weak, stupid, unreasonable creature!" she pushed his hand away and escaped from the corner.

Shikamaru turned around and looked at her, "Ino, I never thought you-" he scratched his head helplessly. He hated dealing with a girl's tears, especially the girl he loved. _Now what? _A part of him wanted to say good night and that he would drop by another time. Another part of him wanted to stay and see her smile again. _Lord, women are so troublesome._ "Ino, please listen."

"Go away!" Ino yelled at him, wiping the streaming tears. She moved backward, hoping to get away from him, until her back hit the wall, "I don't want to listen to someone who is not...the same anymore!" She choked on her words, "Go away! Get out of my sight, Shikamaru!"

"Ino, you don't mean that," the boy held her arms and spoke with a gentle tone, "please don't cry, Ino."

"You have no idea how much you hurt me, Shikamaru," Ino squeezed her eyes shut, not caring how ugly she might be looking at the moment, "You don't know what you've done to me... by kissing... that woman like that in the public. You have no idea."

"I know I hurt you, I do," his hands reached for her cheeks, making her look at him, "but I also pain me to see you cry." He used his thumb to wipe the tears away from her eyes.

"Shikamaru?" Ino looked at him and admired how gentle he looked under the peaceful moonlight. _Did I just feel..._she bit her lower lips. _Did I just feel love?_

"Please let me do this right," Shikamaru whispered out the words before his face moved in closer to hers.

Then, the moment they've been waiting for finally happened, the moment when his lips touched hers.

- - - - -

"Don't touch me!" Temari slapped his brother's hand away.

Kankuro helplessly stood in front of his mad sister and asked again, "what happened? I thought the mission went well!"

The woman opened the closet, throwing every piece of her clothes into a huge suitcase, "I don't care about whether or not this stupid mission is successful or what so ever, not anymore!" after she packed up her clothes, she started to move towards to the shelves where she kept her scrolls of seals.

"Temari, just where are you planning to go with this huge case?"

"I don't care!" She stuffed everything in roughly and tried to shut the case closed, "Just anywhere as long as I am out of Konoha and this stupid place!" _Just anywhere I can't see him or see her. _She tucked her loose hair behind her ears and kicked the case hard, "why doesn't this stupid thing close!"

"Temari," suddenly, there was this cold voice calling out her name by the door of her bedroom. She calmed herself down immediately and looked up to her youngest and strongest brother. Gaara was standing by the door with his arms crossed over his chest and his light green staring at her suitcase.

"Gaara," the woman rose up from her spot but looked away.

"What are you doing?" The red hair boy walked into the room.

Temari took a deep breath into her lungs and answered, "we are going back to the Sand tomorrow, is it all right for you?"

Gaara looked at his sister. When he saw the determination from her eyes, he sighed and nodded slightly, "Hn."

"Gaara!" Kankuro looked at the boy and looked back at his sister, "Temari!"

"Just get a good sleep tonight, Kankuro," Temari calmly spoke as she headed for her bed, "we're going to have a long day tomorrow."

Kankuro wanted to ask more, so much more. Yet, he didn't know where to begin. For the time being, he guessed he had no choice but to leave his sister the way she wanted to be. He closed the door and switched off the light, "good night, Temari," Guess he just had to dig out the truth by himself.

- - - - -

_This is not exactly thought it would be. It didn't expect it to feel so good._ Ino closed her eyes for her own enjoyment. Never in her life had she thought she would be kissing her best friend, her teammate and her lover. She just couldn't get enough of the softness and sweetness of his lips. Her hands traveled around his board shoulders, pulling him closer to her.

It was Shikamaru who pulled away first. Ino looked at him and his blushing face. He tucked his hands into his pockets and stared at the wooden floor.

Ino smiled sweetly at him and asked jokingly, "isn't there suppose to be something that you should tell me after you kissed me like that?"

The boy looked up for a second but lowered his head as soon as he did. He rubbed the back of his neck and blushed harder, "I am never good at expressing myself with words. So I just thought you will understand what I am really trying to tell you, what I am really trying to prove to you."

"I love you," Ino confessed sweetly to him.

Shikamaru looked stunned for a moment before he raised an eyebrow and asked, "what?"

Ino pouted and placed her hands onto her hips, "I guess you are really awful at words, eh?" The girl leaned in closer to him and touched his cheek with her hand, "maybe i should express my words with actions too from now on," with that, she kissed him again.

Their lips touched ever so gently. Slowly, she placed her hands on the nape of his neck and pulled him closer, deepening the kiss. He, as well, held onto her waist and pushed her against the wall behind her. He could faintly hear her whispering his name and smiling between the kiss. _Troublesome. _Shikamaru licked her closed lips, begging for entrance. Then, she giggled again as she parted her lips to welcome his hungry tongue.

Then, after that very moment, Ino's hand left his neck and started to move down to his vest. She began to unzip it and slid it off of his broad shoulder. It was then she heard his chuckled softly. The girl pushed him gently away and stared at him with her blue eyes, "what?"

Shikamaru turned to her with his smile curved up slightly, "don't you think you are a little bit- too hungry?"

She blushed and pouted like a child who was caught stealing cookies from the jar, "Shikamaru-"

"Hn?" he kissed her lightly on the forehead.

Ino blushed in bright red and asked in almost a whisper, "do you want to spent the night here...with me?"

The boy looked shocked for a split second but soon gave her a warm smile, "what do you think?" Then, he claimed her lips again.

Yes, maybe there would be some explaining he had to do tomorrow morning about the Temari matter, but that's for tomorrow.

Tonight was theirs and theirs alone.

* * *

**End of Chapter 11**

**A/N: **Sorry for this delayed chapter! i got this typed out long ago, but my computer went a little bit crazy and deleted everything i wrote. A huge apology for keeping you guys and girls waiting! my apology! anyways, i am thinking about ending this story in the next chapter. hehe! hope you enjoyed this fluffy chapter i wrote! and please forgive me about all those grammar and stupid mistakes i made! haha, im never that kinda of writer who likes to read things over! hehe sorry sorry!


	12. Caught!

**A/N:** Sorry for the late update! Ideas for this chapter had been shifting back and forth! and sorry! This chapter is kind of short too! But, short doesn't mean it's no good, right? _ENJOY! _

* * *

Chapter 12: Caught!

Ino was in an oversized t-shirt and a pair of jean shorts. Her hands were hidden under those rubber gloves she put on earlier. Yes, she was gardening. Standing up and letting out a small groan, she raised her arms into the air and stretched. _What a beautiful morning. _Then, she eyed one of the newly bloomed lilies in the corner of her eyes. _And what a beautiful flower. _Taking off her gloves, her bare finger gently landed on the petals of the flowers. _They feel so soft. _"Just like how his skin felt under my fingers..." _Oh my god._

Ino smacked her cheeks and shook her head as if the memories could be shaken out of her mind. "What was I thinking!" she mumbled softly, still covering her flushed cheeks with her hands, "Stop thinking! Stop thinking!" She smacked her head hard when her mind was still lingering on how gentle his touch was and how sweet his lips were.

She thought her mind was already off from last night, but she couldn't help but smiled when she was telling herself not to think about it. She flipped her long ponytail over her shoulder and squatted onto the grass. The smell of grass would remind her so much about him. It reminded her how their tangled bodies danced in each other's, how their heavy breathings seemed to be the only noises in the quiet night, how protected and safe she would within his arms.

Ino ran her hands through her soft hair and stood up with her hands on her hips, "Just stop that, Ino!" _You are making yourself look like a pervert! _Gathering her gardening equipment into a metal box, she proceeded back into her house. She just wanted to make sure that Shikamaru was awake. He needed to wake up soon. _Or, _maybe she just wanted to see him again.

The Yamanaka girl stopped by the doorstep and dug for her key. Then, she felt a sudden chill coming from her back. She felt human presences behind her. Quickly she turned around. The metal box automatically fell from her grip when her eyes caught who were behind her. She gasped in surprise and winced as if something hit her, "Mom, Dad! You two are back early!"

"How is my baby doing?" Inoichi gave Ino a tight embrace before letting her go. Ino stood stunned instead of feeling happy that her parents were back from their business trip. _Of course, currently, there is a man in my room. _

"I am fine. Uh-" Ino picked up the fallen box and purposely stood in front of the door to block the entrance. "I...uh- Just stay out of the house for five minutes! I need to make sure that the whole place is clean and tidy! No peeking, okay?" With that, she stormed into her house and locked the doors.

_Now what am I going to do! Correction. What are we going to do! _Ino threw the metal box out of her hand. She yelled on top of her lungs as she ran upstairs, "Shikamaru!" Swinging her bedroom door opened with a thud, she rushed over to the side of the bed where the boy was still sleeping. Ino touched his arm and shook him, "Shikamaru! Wake up! We have a problem!"

Shikamaru pushed her hand away and buried his face deep into the pillow, "don't worry, I will do the laundry later, okay?"

"This isn't just the simple and normal laundry I am talking about!" Ino sat on the soft mattress, still desperately trying to wake the lazy shinobi up from his dreams, "Shikamaru, please wake up!"

The boy still held the warm blanket tight, "All right, I will do the dishes too. How's that?" He yawned lazily and, once again, relaxed his whole body.

"Shikamaru, I will do the laundry and the dishes! All you do is wake up, please?" The girl pulled his arm. "Please just wake up. I need you to wake up."

And then again, he escaped from her grip, "I will wake up when breakfast is ready-"

"Shikamaru-!"

"Ino baby." Her dad. _Oh no! _Ino bit her fingers and screamed inside her head. _What am I going to do? _The blonde hair girl took a one last look at Shikamaru's sleeping figure before she pulled the blanket over his head and sat before the body, hoping that her parents wouldn't see him here. When that was done, the door was slowly opened. "Ino, what are you doing in your bedroom?"

The girl tucked her hair behind her ear, "I just forgot to- uh- fold the blanket!"

"It's all right, dear! Your daddy bought you a lot of things on the trip," her mom entered her room and slowly approached her, "go downstairs and take a look!"

"No, mom!" Ino stood up, pushing her mom back to the door, "I can clean after myself! I am a big-"

"What's with all these noises and stupid blanket?" Shikamaru pushed the blanket away from his face as he rose up from the bed into a sitting position. His eyes were still close and his hair was in a messy ponytail. "Ino, didn't I say-"

A loud scream.

Shikamaru shot his eyes opened and his expression completely frozen at the sight. _Just when did they- _The boy waved his hands in front of his face and stumbled on his words, "Mrs. Yamanaka, I can explain. Your daughter and I didn't do anything! _No!_ I mean we did- Wait, no. I mean we didn't-"

Cutting him short again, Ino ran back to the bedside and shoved the blanket into his mouth.

"Ino baby, why is Shikamaru sleeping in your bed, with no shirt on?" She could see that her dad almost, _almost_, got a heart attack.

And all Ino could manage at this moment was giving her parents a crooked laugh.

- - - - -

"Shikamaru, if next time that happens, you have to wake up when I tell you to," Ino turned her head slightly so she could look at the boy's face. Then, she sighed. As much as she wanted to yell at him for not waking up and putting back his shirt on when he was supposed to, she had no energy to scream and yell anymore after the lecture her parents gave to the two of them.

"Ino, I am not even sure if there's going to be a 'next time'," Shikamaru sighed lazily with a dead look on his face. Actually, both of them carried a dead look on their faces. It would be nice if there were no one else bugging them at this moment. _So troublesome. _"What can we do now, Ino?"

"What_ else _can we do?" the girl stopped walking and faced him, "We just have to do what my parents told us to."

"But there's no way I can do that," Shikamaru rubbed the back of his neck. "_I have to ban you two from seeing each other until we think of a perfect solution for this problem!" _That was what Inoichi told both of them to do. The boy sighed and tucked his hands into his pockets, "Fine. I guess we have to stick with that."

"Then, I guess this is goodbye," Ino raised a hand in front of her face, attempting to wave. But, her hand just froze at its spot. _Hopefully we can still see each other, hopefully. _"We have to wait till my parents come up with a solution. Until then, we'll-"

He held her arms and brought her into an embrace. As a cue, she buried her face onto his shoulder and whispered so ever softly and passionately, "I will miss you."

And faintly, she could hear him telling her the very same thing.

- - - - -

Shikamaru wandered in the heart of Konoha after he escorted Ino back to her flower shop. As usual, his hands were tucked deep inside his pockets and wore the same turtleneck shirt, over the net shirt, under his green jounin vest. He raised his head to stare at the clear blue sky. _What a troublesome day. _He missed her smile, her touch and the softness of her hair already. How could he possibly stop himself from seeing her after all those weeks they lived together? Then, he sighed again.

Although Shikamaru was deep in his thought and deep in his what-to-do-without-Ino situation, he was still a wonderful shinobi. He could still judge when an unknown kunai flow towards him. "Who's there?" he asked with his lazy tone. He was positively sure that his back was facing the attacker. And that was one of the taboos of being a ninja. _But who cares?_

"It's me," _Temari. _Shikamaru turned around and noticed not only the woman, but also the luggage on her arms.

"Where are you going?" The shadow user talked towards her but kept his distance, "going back to the sand?"

The woman smiled and bowed her head, "since the mission was done and the Hokage is not requesting me to stay, I guess I should go back," then, she looked at him, "I belong there anyway."

Shikamaru smiled, "right," then, he had nothing else to say.

But, she had a lot of things she wanted to say to him. _Too much to say. _Suddenly, she dropped her luggage and hugged him, "Shikamaru?"

"Hn?"

"If you like someone, just tell her how you feel. I told someone whom I like how I feel but he just didn't accept my love," She let go of him and picked up her luggage from the ground, "But at least I won't leave myself any regret in the end. Why let others decide your happiness when you can make your own?" She smiled, "I wish you two happy."

He froze at his spot but gave her a weak smile at last, "have a safe trip, Temari." The woman waved her hand as she turned away from him. The boy stood there and watched as her and her two other brothers walked out the gate of Konoha. _and thank you._

- - - - -

Ino sat by her table, staring into space. It had been months or years since the day her parents banned her from seeing Shikamaru. _Actually, it had only been weeks. _The girl held up the mirror and looked at her own reflections. _What a terrible look on my face. _Ever since that day, Ino wasn't allowed to go anywhere except for her flower shop and on missions. And every time there was a mission, Inoichi would make sure that Shikamaru wasn't on the same team.

She sighed as she reached for the photo album, flipping every single page. Sometimes, she would happen to come across with some Shikamaru pictures. She would smile and remember the wonderful times they've spent with each other. _Everything_.

"Ino, dinner is ready!" her mom yelled from downstairs.

Ino stood up from the chair and yelled back, "I am coming!" The girl placed the album back onto the shelves and walked downstairs. Their dinner smelled wonderful, but not wonderful enough to make her smile. It's true. She hadn't been smiling ever since that day they separated but she still appreciated her mom's effort on making their meals pretty.

"Time to-" before the family could finish the word, _eat, _the doorbell rang. Inoichi stood up from the dinner table and to the door. _Probably just another mission. _That was what Ino thought. That's why she proceeded drinking her bowl of soup. _The soup is great. I love the way the tomato, potato and pieces of onions mixed together. _Then, Ino almost choked when she heard what her dad said to the visitor.

"What are you doing here, Nara boy?"

_Shikamaru. _Ino placed the bowl onto the table and wiped her mouth. She rushed to the opened door and a smile brightened her face. When she was about to reach out for him, her dad placed an arm between the teenagers and kept his eyes on the boy, "I thought I told you not to see her until we come up with a solution."

"Mr. Yamanaka, I came up with one." The shadow genius spoke out confidently, "and I didn't come to see her."

The man leaned against the doorframe and asked, "all right, then why did you come here?"

Shikamaru's gaze switched over to Ino as he pulled his hands out of his pockets, "I came here to propose."

Then, Shikamaru got down on one knee and held out the ring he bought for her, "Ino, will you marry me?"

* * *

**End of Chapter 12**

**A/N: **All right! Let's hope you people will like it! So, what do you all think? and omg! when i was editing it, i just realized that i messed up with the "he, she, him and her" haha! Anyways, I am working on another fiction on Shikamaru and Ino. It's called _"Not so Perfectly in Love"_. Hopefully you people will spend some time reading that one too. Anyhow, the next chapter should be the last one! Please vote here: a _funny ending_ or _straight-fluff ending_? Thank you for reading! Until next time!


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